Montgomery, Alabama - Torie Wilson, age 23, was sentenced on February 22, 2010, to 191 months in prison and five years of supervised release for his role in a violent carjacking in Lowndes County that occurred on January 16, 2009, U.S. Attorney Leura G. Canary announced today. Wilson pled guilty to charges of carjacking and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in United States District Court in Montgomery.

Wilson admitted to his role in the carjacking of a vehicle driven by four teenagers near Fort Deposit late on January 16, 2009. Wilson and three others followed the victims from the Ft. Deposit Chevron station. They then intentionally caused an accident with the victims’ car to force the car to stop along an isolated country road outside Fort Deposit. At that point, Wilson and his three co-conspirators exited their vehicle. Two of them had firearms and began shooting in the direction of the victims’ car. The victims’ car attempted to escape but the shooting caused the vehicle to drive into a ditch and crash. Two of the victims were able to escape into the surrounding woods. The other two were robbed at gunpoint. When their own vehicle would not start, Wilson and the others forced the victims to turn over their keys and held them at gunpoint while they pushed the victims’ car out of the ditch. When another vehicle drove up on the scene to assist the vehicle, the suspects fired shots at that vehicle. The driver received minor injuries when a round went through his windshield. Wilson and the others then drove off in the victims’ car. The two victims at the scene and the two who escaped into the woods were not physically harmed

In addition to Wilson, three other Fort Deposit men have been convicted in the incident. Jihad Walker, age 20, pled guilty and was sentenced to 57 months imprisonment. Wayne Ware, age 25, and James Steiner, age 20, were convicted after a jury trial of conspiracy, carjacking and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Ware and Steiner are scheduled to be sentenced on March 25, 2010. At sentencing, Ware and Steiner face maximum punishments of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy, fifteen years for the carjacking, and a mandatory minimum of ten years up to a maximum of life in prison for using the firearm.

The case was investigated as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods and Middle District of Alabama’s Alabama ICE programs, aimed at preventing violent crime and the illegal possession and use of firearms. According to United States Attorney Leura G. Canary, “This defendant received a substantial sentence for committing a violent crime and using a firearm on the victims during the commission of the crime. Violent crimes involving guns pose a danger to our community and we will continue to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes to the fullest extent of the law. These victims suffered greatly and now Mr. Wilson will be in prison for almost 16 years as a result.”

This case was investigated through the joint efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office, and the Fort Deposit Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Shepherd and Louis V. Franklin, Sr.

 

PRESS CONTACT: Clark Morris
Email: usaalm.press@usdoj.gov
Telephone: (334) 551-1755
Fax: (334) 223-7617

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