Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

RALEIGH - United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that CHARLIE O’BRYANT TERRY, 33, of Henderson, North Carolina was sentenced by Senior United States District Judge W. Earl Britt to 240 months imprisonment, 24 months on a revocation of supervised release followed by 3 years’ supervised release after the term of imprisonment.

TERRY was named in a six-count Superseding Indictment on June 15, 2017. On September 25, 2017, TERRY pled guilty to Obstruction of Justice and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. At the time of the offense to which he pled guilty, TERRY was actively being supervised by the United States Probation Office for a prior firearm conviction.

On January 10, 2017, TERRY attempted to sell a vehicle to two people for $3,000.00. While driving the potential buyers to retrieve the money, the check engine light came on in the vehicle. After an examination of the car at AutoZone, the potential buyer advised TERRY that he did not want to purchase the vehicle because it had too many issues. Instead, of returning the man to his home, TERRY who was angry, drove the man and woman to a rural area in Vance County, stopped the car, pulled the male from the car and repeatedly hit him with a firearm. TERRY then pulled the female from the vehicle, and placed the pistol in her mouth. TERRY subsequently took the victim’s cellular telephone and $3,000 before leaving them both on the side of the road. The male victim was hospitalized as a result of the assault and required staples to close a laceration to his head. The victims reported the assault and robbery to law enforcement.

TERRY was arrested on April 3, 2017, by deputies with the United States Marshals Service based on a warrant issued for violating the conditions of his supervision. While making the arrest at TERRY’S girlfriend’s residence, officers observed his girlfriend’s 14-year old daughter with an odd bulge in her pants. A subsequent search of the juvenile revealed a .22 caliber Taurus semiautomatic firearm loaded with 9 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition.

Following his arrest on April 3, 2017, TERRY also was served with outstanding arrest warrants related to the assault and robbery of the two victims mentioned above. While detained at the Vance County Jail, TERRY encountered in the jail, one of the victims TERRY assaulted over the car incident. On April 6, 2017, while in custody, TERRY approached that individual and told him to change his statement. TERRY told him that he needed to meet with TERRY’s attorney and tell the attorney that TERRY did not pistol whip him, that they only got into a fight. The man refused because of the injuries TERRY inflicted on him. TERRY threatened him if he did not change his statement.

Following TERRY’s federal arrest, agents seized and subsequently executed a search warrant on TERRY’s cellular telephone. A review of the pictures on the phone revealed that TERRY had taken several “selfies,” or photographs of himself with a Smith and Wesson .223 caliber AR-15 semiautomatic firearm on April 2, 2017. The firearm had been reported stolen and subsequently was recovered on April 10, 2017, at a residence in Henderson.

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 make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Jeff Sessions reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.

In support of PSN, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina has implemented the Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.

Investigation of this case was conducted by the Henderson Police Department, Vance County Sheriff’s Office, North Carolina Crime Laboratory, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the United States Marshal Service. Assistant United States Attorney S. Katherine Burnette prosecuted this case.

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