Source: United States Department of Justice News
ROANOKE, Va. – A Roanoke man, who had been acquitted in state court of a May 2019 murder in the City of Roanoke after claiming self-defense, was sentenced yesterday to 12 years in prison on a federal gun charge.
Demarcus Shaiquan Glenn, 23, pled guilty in July 2022 to one count of possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to court documents, a 16-year-old male contacted Glenn through a friend on May 31, 2019, in order to purchase two ounces of marijuana. Glenn agreed to sell the teenager the marijuana for $300 and was to meet him at a Denniston Avenue residence to conduct the transaction. In the course of that transaction, Glenn produced a firearm and shot and killed the teenager.
Glenn was charged in state court for the shooting but was later acquitted, claiming self-defense.
During his state jury trial, Glenn testified in his own defense. According to Glenn, he carried firearms for protection because he sold drugs and it can be dangerous, and when he arrived at the teenager’s residence, Glenn was carrying a loaded firearm in his right pocket. Glenn admitted under oath to shooting the teenager in the course of the drug deal.
Federal law prohibits convicted drug dealers from possessing, brandishing, and discharging a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, Special Agent in Charge Stanley M. Meador of the FBI Richmond Division, and Samuel Roman, Chief of Police for the City of Roanoke, made the announcement today.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of Roanoke Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Coleman Adams and Kristin B. Johnson prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.