Ernest Tulisdar Carpenter, Violent Hobbs Act Robbery and Discharging of a Firearm, North Carolina 2014

Fayetteville Man Sentenced for Violent Hobbs Act Robbery and Discharging of a Firearm

GREENVILLE – A Fayetteville man has been sentenced to 190 months in prison for his role in a violent Hobbs Act robbery and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Ernest Tulisdar Carpenter, 44, was sentenced to 190 months imprisonment followed by 5 years of supervised release on December 9, 2016, after pleading guilty to charges of Interference with Commerce by Robbery and Discharging of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence.

The crime took place on December 9, 2014, at Moe’s Southwest Grill at 201 N. McPherson Street in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Carpenter, armed with a semi-automatic handgun, entered the restaurant and approached an employee, demanding money from the safe. He threatened to shoot every employee in the business if the safe was not opened.

Carpenter forced the employees, at gunpoint, to the rear of the building where the office was located. After the manager opened the safe, Carpenter leaned down to retrieve money and an employee lunged at him. A struggle ensued and Carpenter fired two rounds from his firearm, shooting one employee in the foot and a second employee in the abdomen.

Carpenter fled on foot, without taking any money, but was apprehended shortly after the robbery. Once detained, Carpenter’s eye began to swell as a result of the struggle with the employee.

This case was part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods initiative, which encourages federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified effort against gun crime. The investigation was conducted by the Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Jane Jackson represented the government.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/pr/fayetteville-man-sentenced-violent-hobbs-act-robbery-and-discharging-firearm-during