Dan Davis (writer)

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This article is about the American writer and fugitive. For other uses, see Daniel Davis (disambiguation).
Dan "Tito" Davis
Davis in 2018
Davis in 2018
BornDaniel E. Davis
(1953-07-10) July 10, 1953 (age 70)
Pierre, South Dakota,
United States
Pen nameDan "Tito" Davis
OccupationAuthor
NationalityAmerican
EducationBlack Hills State University, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
GenreAutobiography
Website
Official website

Dan "Tito" Davis (born 1953) is an American writer. Davis was a fugitive from US authorities between 1994 and 2007, when he was renditioned back to the US from Venezuela. He is the author of the book Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive.

Education and early life[edit]

Dan Davis was born in South Dakota. He was on the wrestling team in high school and became a professional horse jockey afterwards.[1] Davis began selling legal ephedrine pills (white crosses) in 1972, starting with Black Hills State College, before transferring to University of Nevada, Las Vegas[2] where he supplied legal ephedrine pills to the Bandidos Motorcycle Club.[1] He spent five years in prison during the 1980s for tax fraud.[3]

Fugitive years[edit]

In 1998 Davis was indicted on state and federal charges, including conspiracy to distribute methamphetamines and marijuana, with additional narcotics charges from 1994—which Davis claims were the result of a friend of his framing him with two pounds of meth.[1] After living in hiding in the US he then fled to Mexico in 1994, where he eluded discovery by US and Mexican officials. He was discovered again in 2006 living and working in the Margarita Islands of Venezuela. He was arrested and deported by Venezuelan authorities under unusual circumstances in 2007, and arrested for the pending American drug charges by US officials upon his return to American soil.[4] Davis and his Venezuelan lawyers have stated that they believe the deportation was actually an example of kidnapping and illegal rendition.[5] It is alleged that the US government paid up to $2 million for Davis's rendition. During his time on the run, he lived in more than fifty different countries,[3] spending much of his time in Colombia under the protection of the Medellin Cartel.[5] In 2008 he was sentenced to ten years in prison.[6]

Writing career[edit]

Davis wrote a co wrote with author Peter Conti, a book on his fugitive years entitled Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive in 2017.[1] The book was the number one bestseller on Amazon's Hot New Releases bestseller list.[7] He has toured internationally in support of the book.[8] Davis is also in talks to turn his book into a movie, based in part upon the 500 additional pages he wrote that did not appear in the final manuscript.[9] In 2018, Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive won the Readers' Favorite Gold Medal award in the Non-Fiction Autobiography category [10] On January 4, 2019, Davis sailed to the Antarctic Peninsula on board the Polar Latitudes operated expedition vessel MS Island Sky and completed a seven-continent book tour in Port Lockroy, Antarctica.[11]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "South Dakotan recalls life as international fugitive in memoir". USA Today.
  2. ^ "The Story of Dan "Tito" Davis". Archived from the original on 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  3. ^ a b "Dan "Tito" Davis — My Life as an International Fugitive-Tulsa Book Review". 21 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Fugitive from drug charges caught in Venezuela". 24 April 2007.
  5. ^ a b "From Locked Up To Raving Enjoying Everything Life Has to Offer: Exclusive Interview with Author, Dan 'Tito' Davis and his Book Gringo: My Life on the Edge as an International Fugitive". Archived from the original on 2018-08-14. Retrieved 2018-08-14.
  6. ^ "14-year fugitive sentenced in Rapid City to prison". Associated Press. 17 October 2008.
  7. ^ "No Longer On The Run". 2 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Expert fugitive Tito reveals how to 'disappear' in the Philippines". 23 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Dan 'Tito' Davis opens up about real-life memoir 'Gringo' (Includes interview)". 1 May 2018.
  10. ^ "2018 Readers' Favorite Non-fiction - Autobiography Award Winners".
  11. ^ "Dan "Tito" Davis Completes the First Seven Continent Book Tour with Antarctica Signing". 15 January 2019.
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