Armed Convicted Felon Is Sentenced 24 Years In Prison For Two Carjackings And Related Gun Offenses

 The Defendant Committed the Crimes While Awaiting Trial for a Robbery Charge

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced today that Dejuan Evans, 30, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 288 months in prison for two carjackings and related firearms offenses.  In addition to the prison term imposed, U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. also ordered Evans to serve five years under court supervision.

Robert R. Wells, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join U.S. Attorney Murray in making today’s announcement.

“Anyone willing to rob his elderly grandmother is a menace to society,” said U.S. Attorney Murray. “I’m glad the prison sentence imposed will remove Evans from our streets for a long time.”

According to court documents, evidence presented at Evans’ trial and today’s sentencing hearing, on June 18, 2018, Evans carjacked at gunpoint a victim, identified in court documents as J.K., at a 7-Eleven located at 1501 N. Tryon Street, in Charlotte. Court records show that Evans approached the victim, who was walking back to his parked vehicle, pointed a firearm in the victim’s face and fled the scene in the victim’s pick-up truck. Two days after the carjacking incident, on June 20, 2018, Evans and another individual were involved in an assault on Evans’ grandmother, during which her purse was stolen. Immediately after the assault, court records show that Evans was captured on bank surveillance video, driving J.K.’s pick-up truck and using his grandmother’s ATM card.

On July 2, 2018, Evans carjacked a second victim, identified as M.L., at an apartment complex in Charlotte. According to trial testimony, M.L. was delivering pizza at the apartment complex, when Evans approached M.L. in the parking lot, pointed a firearm at M.L., and ordered M.L. to empty his pockets. The victim complied and Evans fled the scene in the victim’s vehicle.  Court records show that CMPD officers arrested Evans on July 10, 2018, as he was attempting to flee law enforcement. Court records also show that law enforcement recovered a firearm from Evans’ apartment.

At the time Evans committed the carjackings, he was on pretrial release on state charges for robbery, and had cut off his electronic monitor. Evans also has prior offenses and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm.

A federal jury convicted Evans on December 3, 2019, of two counts of carjacking, two counts of possession and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm by a felon.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Murray thanked the CMPD and the FBI for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Kelly and Erik Lindahl, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, prosecuted the case.