Fayetteville Career Criminal Who Shot Pawn Shop Owner Convicted by a Federal Jury

RALEIGH, N.C. – A federal jury convicted Mario Whitted, 28, today on charges arising from his shooting of a Fayetteville pawn shop owner as he closed up for the night on November 30, 2019. The owner, who survived the attack, was struck twice in the leg and returned fire with his own handgun. Whitted fled the scene and flagged down a Good Samaritan who offered to take him to a local Emergency Room. Whitted instead insisted that he be taken home. He was later apprehended in South Carolina after having a bullet extracted from his foot which ballistics examiners matched to the victim’s gun. DNA evidence also linked Whitted to the scene after he bled in the Good Samaritan’s car. Whitted was found guilty of being a felon in possession of ammunition, deemed an armed career criminal, and now faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced later this year. Whitted has three prior state convictions for common law robbery.

“Today’s verdict puts a career criminal behind bars and makes the Fayetteville community safer,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. “Our office will continue to partner with law enforcement to investigate and prosecute those driving gun violence around our homes and businesses.”

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III accepted the verdict. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Cumberland and Robeson County Sheriffs’ Offices investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chad Rhoades and Phil Aubart prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.5:20-CR-353-D.

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