Source: United States Department of Justice News
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Charlotte man was sentenced today to 87 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Timothy Lamont Johnson, 55, of Charlotte, was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his sentence.
Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on January 10, 2020, at approximately 8:50 p.m., CMPD officers responded to multiple 911 calls reporting a shooting at the parking lot of an apartment complex in Charlotte. When officers arrived at the scene, they found a male victim who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. After questioning several witnesses, CMPD officers determined that Johnson had shot the victim before fleeing the scene in his vehicle. Based on information gathered at the scene of the crime and the victim’s statement, law enforcement issued an arrest warrant for Johnson. The next day, CMPD officers located Johnson’s vehicle in Charlotte and he was arrested on the outstanding warrant. At the time of Johnson’s arrest, officers recovered a loaded firearm from under the driver’s seat of Johnson’s vehicle. A forensic analysis of the firearm determined that it was the weapon that fired the bullet casings recovered from the scene of the shooting. At sentencing today, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. applied a sentencing enhancement for attempted murder. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement also determined that the firearm was stolen.
On June 26, 2020, Johnson pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Johnson has multiple prior violent convictions, including Assault with a Deadly Weapon with Intent to Kill, Assault with a Deadly Weapon Resulting in Serious Injury, Discharging a Weapon into an Occupied Property, and Robbery With a Dangerous Weapon. He is currently in custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Taylor G. Stout of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
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In July 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina launched Think Again, an informational campaign to educate the public on how to prevent illegal firearms from
getting into the wrong hands.The U.S. Attorney’s Office partnered with the ATF in this initiative, in a joint effort to reduce gun-induced violence and to increase reporting of illegal firearms. The campaign encourages the public to submit an anonymous tip about illegal firearms and other criminal activity to the ATF by calling 1-888-ATF-TIPS (1-888-283-8477), via text at 63975, or online at WWW.ATF.GOV/ATF-TIPS.
For additional information about our Think Again initiative, please visit our website. You can view our Think Again Public Service Announcements here.