Darrick Lamorris McKenzie, Carjacking and Firearm Offenses, North Carolina 2018

Raleigh, NC - In a shocking turn of events, Darrick Lamorris McKenzie, 39, of Lumberton, was sentenced to 31 years and 5 months in prison for carjacking and firearm offenses.

According to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., McKenzie was named in an eight-count indictment filed on March 28, 2018. He pleaded guilty to two counts of carjacking and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

The charges stem from two separate incidents that took place in Lumberton on March 14 and March 16, 2017. In the first incident, McKenzie robbed MSI (Packer Sanitation) located at 1312-B East 5th Street in Lumberton. He entered the business, pulled out a gun, and demanded money from the victim employee. McKenzie then stole two laptop computers and two televisions and brutally raped the victim while putting her in a chokehold.

On March 16, 2017, another victim was inside his vehicle located at 2702 Martin Luther King Drive in Lumberton when McKenzie knocked on the driver's side window and pointed a firearm at him. The victim stated that McKenzie threatened to kill him numerous times and stole his wallet. As McKenzie was attempting to flee, the victim's friend yelled at him, and he fired the gun from inside the vehicle, hitting the windshield behind the rearview mirror.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and making neighborhoods safer for everyone. The effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative, which 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.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), Lumberton Police Department, Fayetteville Police Department, and the Raleigh Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney James Kurosad prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Darrick Lamorris McKenzie, Carjacking and Firearm Offenses, North Carolina 2018. McKenzie was sentenced to 379 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release and ordered to pay $9,500 in restitution.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/lumberton-man-sentenced-more-31-years-prison-carjacking-and-firearm-offenses