Darryl Damon Leach, 36, of Charlotte, is headed to federal prison for 94 months after a violent confrontation at a Shell gas station and a brutal attempt to silence a witness. Leach, already barred from possessing firearms due to prior convictions, pulled a Hi-Point semiautomatic pistol on a clerk and punched him to the ground during a robbery attempt on March 5, 2020.
According to court documents, Leach entered the gas station at 1125 Sugar Creek Road with a female witness. During the encounter, he brandished the firearm, assaulted the clerk, then fled the scene. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) responded to the call and launched an investigation that quickly led to Leach. He was arrested nine days later, on March 14, 2020, with the same firearm recovered from his vehicle.
Leach has two prior convictions for Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon, plus convictions for Second Degree Kidnapping and Burglary—crimes that legally prohibit him from owning or carrying a gun. Despite that, he remained armed and dangerous. After being charged with state offenses and released on bond, Leach turned his violence toward the only person who could tie him to the gun: the female witness who was with him during the robbery.
While out on bond, Leach and an accomplice assaulted the woman in a calculated effort to obstruct justice. They beat her, punched her repeatedly, and put her in a headlock, leaving her with injuries severe enough to require medical treatment. Their goal: force her to claim the firearm was hers, not his. The attack backfired. Instead of silencing her, it deepened the federal case against him.
On December 20, 2020, Leach pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. enhanced his sentence due to the witness intimidation, citing the assault as a deliberate act of obstruction. Leach was sentenced to 94 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
The joint investigation was conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Stout handled the prosecution. Acting U.S. Attorney William T. Stetzer, ATF Special Agent in Charge Vincent C. Pallozzi, and CMPD Chief Johnny Jennings confirmed the outcome, underscoring the consequences of violent crime and retaliation in federal court.
Related Federal Cases
- Darryl Leach Gets 94 Months for Gun Crime, Witness Attack · North Carolina
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- Thomas Evans Kelly Indicted for Straw Gun Buying in Charlotte · North Carolina
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- Daquez Howard Sentenced in Greenville Gun Case · North Carolina
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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