DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
GRETCHEN C.F. SHAPPERT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2009

CONTACT: SUELLEN PIERCE
704.338.3120
FAX 704.227.0264

PETER J. SMITH CONVICTED BY FEDERAL JURY Defendant Awaiting Sentencing on Multiple Criminal Counts CHARLOTTE , NC - A federal jury sitting in Charlotte, convicted Peter J. Smith, 52, formerly of Brooklyn New York, following a two-day trial which ended on Tuesday afternoon, February 10, 2009. Smith was originally charged in April, 2008 in connection with his use of a gun and other threats to carjack and kidnap two victims in Rock Hill, SC and Charlotte, NC. U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert made today’s announcement. The case was tried before the Honorable Robert J. Conrad, Jr. in U.S. District Court by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas T. Cullen and Mark T. Odulio.

Joining U.S. Attorney Shappert in making today’s announcement are Zebedee T. Graham, Special Agent in Charge of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Rodney Monroe of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD). The federal indictment charging Peter J. Smith was filed April 22, 2008 and additional charges were obtained in a second superseding bill of indictment on January 21, 2009 in U.S. District Court. The charges focused on crimes committed by the defendant from December 30, 2007 to January 3, 2008. The indictment alleged that Smith used a firearm to carjack and kidnap two individuals, including a West Mecklenburg High School teacher, within the Western District of North Carolina. In all Smith was charged with 7 counts arising from the events outlined in the indictment, 2 counts of carjacking (Counts 1 and 4), 2 counts of kidnapping (Counts 2 and 5), 2counts of using a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking and kidnapping crimes (Counts 3 and 6), and 1 count of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon (Count 7).

According to evidence presented at trial, on December 12, 2007, the defendant was released from the U.S. Bureau of Prisons after completing a sentence for a prior conviction. Thereafter, on December 30, 2007, the defendant used a handgun and other threats to carjack and kidnap the first victim at an Econo Lodge in Rock Hill, South Carolina and forced the victim to drive to Charlotte, North Carolina. The defendant forced the victim to rent him a hotel room at a Holiday Inn in Charlotte, utilized the victim’s cell phone to obtain the contact information of the victim’s family, and threatened to harm the victim’s family if the victim attempted to escape or to alert the police. The defendant then forced the victim to withdraw over three thousand dollars in U.S. currency from the victim’s bank accounts and to rent him a car at Budget Rent A Car at the Charlotte International Airport. The evidence showed that the defendant then released the victim late on the evening of December 30, 2007.

According to trial testimony, on January 2, 2008, the defendant used a gun and other threats to carjack and kidnap the second victim, a West Mecklenburg High School teacher on her lunch break, from the parking lot of a Subway Restaurant on Little Rock Road in Charlotte. Trial evidence showed that the defendant, at gunpoint, forced the victim to drive him to a Ramada Inn in Charlotte and to rent him a room. Over the next thirty hours, the defendant forced the victim to withdraw U.S. currency from her bank account. Evidence at trial showed that the money was used to purchase, among other things, crack cocaine. In addition to threatening the victim with the gun, the defendant threatened to use the victim as a human shield in any altercation with the police, according to trial testimony.

Trial evidence also showed that on January 3, 2008, in order to escape captivity, the second victim convinced the defendant to take her to the State Employees Credit Union (SECU) on East 3rd St. so that she could purportedly obtain additional money on his behalf. Once inside the SECU, the victim called the police and the defendant was arrested by CMPD in the SECU parking lot. At the time of his arrest, the defendant was in possession of the handgun used to facilitate the carjacking and kidnapping crimes. U.S. Attorney Gretchen C.F. Shappert commended ATF and the CMPD Homicide Division for their investigative efforts and dedication to this case. “Peter James Smith used a gun and other threats to carjack and kidnap citizens of our community. This verdict sends a clear message: violent crimes will not be tolerated in this District.” Following the trial, the federal jury deliberated approximately one hour and thirty minutes. With the announcement of the conviction, presiding U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad, Jr. advised that Smith’s sentencing would take place later in 2009. Smith faces the following terms of imprisonment:

• up to 15 years imprisonment for each of the carjacking charges (Counts 1 and 4);
• up to life imprisonment for each of the kidnapping charges (Counts 2 and 5);
• mandatory 32 years imprisonment for using a firearm in furtherance of the carjacking and kidnapping (Counts 3 and 6) consecutive to the terms of imprisonment related to the carjacking and kidnapping offenses;
• minimum 15 years to life for the illegal possession of a firearm (Count 7).

Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
PETER J. SMITH
AGE: 52
LAST KNOWN ADDRESS: Brooklyn, NY
STATUS: IN FEDERAL CUSTODY AWAITING SENTENCING