Bryan Dequan Ledbetter, Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, North Carolina 2023

Bryan Dequan Ledbetter, a 48-year-old man from Charlotte, North Carolina, has been sentenced to 96 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to documents filed in the case and court proceedings, on September 25, 2022, Ledbetter used a bedroom window to enter the home of a female victim who was known to him. The victim called 911, and while she was on the phone with the dispatcher, she managed to escape and run toward the neighbor’s home.

Ledbetter caught up with the victim on the neighbor’s porch, placed his hands around her neck, and began to squeeze her neck. He then dragged the victim on the neighbor’s yard while keeping his hands around her neck. Court records show that, while Ledbetter held the victim down, he pulled out a firearm and fired into the air.

Ledbetter then dragged the victim in the nearby bushes where he placed the muzzle of the firearm against the victim’s head and under her neck. When officers arrived at the scene, they ordered Ledbetter to surrender. At first, Ledbetter refused and continued to press his firearm against the victim’s head. Ledbetter eventually threw down his firearm and was arrested on scene.

Ledbetter pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on March 14, 2023. He has prior state convictions that include assault on a female and felony assault by strangulation, and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.

Ledbetter is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. U.S. Attorney Dena J. King thanked the ATF and CMPD for their investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik Lindahl of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte 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.