LA Man Faces Trial For Cross Country Murder For Hire Scheme In Vermont

The Los Angeles man that authorities say was behind an elaborate cross-country murder-for-hire scheme that ended in a deadly shooting in Vermont seven years ago will go on trial today in U.S. District Court in Burlington. Serhat D. Gumrukcu, 42, has pleaded not guilty to three felony charges, including causing the execution-style death of Gregory Davis, 49, of Danville in January 2018. Authorities have identified Gumrukcu as the man who ordered the hit on Davis after he threatened to blow the whistle on the defendant for a multimillion-dollar fraud involving international investments in an oil deal. Gumrukcu was identified early as a person of interest in the Vermont homicide because he and his brother were the only known people to have a dispute with Davis that would be the motive for his execution, a prosecutor noted. Chief Federal Judge Christina Reiss told potential jurors the long-delayed trial could last up to five weeks.