Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Cedric Lamar Turner, 31, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 164 months in prison on carjacking charges and related firearms violations, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. also ordered Turner to serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison.

U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by C.J. Hyman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on August 8, 2016, Turner approached the male victim who was exiting a BB&T Bank branch, and, while brandishing a black pistol, he carjacked the victim’s 1999 Toyota Camry. Court records show that Turner also stole the victim’s wallet, checkbook and cellular phone. Shortly after the carjacking, law enforcement located Turner driving the stolen vehicle and attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Turner did not stop, and, after crashing the stolen car into a power pole, he exited the vehicle and fled on foot. According to court records, law enforcement arrested Turner shortly thereafter. At the time of the arrest, Turner had the victim’s wallet in the pocket of his pants. Law enforcement also found nearby a Haskell, model JHP, .45 caliber pistol.

According to court records, Turner told law enforcement that he had been "caught red handed." Turner also admitted that he had been at a convenience store next to the bank branch, watching the bank in order to target someone to rob. As reflected in court documents, Turner admitted that he saw the victim go into the bank, and, thinking the victim would have money when he exited the bank, Turner approached the victim at his vehicle, pointed his gun at the victim and demanded the victim’s money and car. According to court records, while driving in the stolen vehicle, Turner threw the victim’s cellular phone out of the car because he believed that he could be tracked by the phone. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement also determined that the firearm Turner brandished during the carjacking was stolen.

Turner pleaded guilty in February 2017 to one count of carjacking; one count of using, carrying and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence; and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Turner is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The investigation was led by the ATF and CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Gleason, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.

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