Press Release
Fayetteville Man Sentenced to More Than 23 Years for Drug Dealing, Gun Possession, and Shooting Spree
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of North Carolina
RALEIGH – The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Robert J. Higdon, Jr., announces that Chief United States District Judge Terrence W. Boyle sentenced ROBERT TYCELL LOCKHART, 30, of Fayetteville, NC, today. LOCKHART was sentenced to 277 months imprisonment followed by a lifetime of supervised release.
LOCKHART had previously been convicted in federal court in the Eastern District of North Carolina on drug and firearm offenses. He was released from the federal Bureau of Prisons in April of 2018 after serving a 70 month sentence.
Almost immediately after he was released—and while he was under federal post-release supervision—LOCKHART began committing new crimes. He tested positive for drug use, and agents determined that he was again selling drugs.
On August 10 and August 14, 2018, agents successfully purchased cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”) from LOCKHART.
On August 15, 2018, agents observed multiple individuals approaching LOCKHART’s vehicle, which was parked at a gas station. LOCKHART walked into the gas station bathroom; agents approached him, and LOCKHART was found in possession of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, cocaine base (crack), currency, and digital scales. In his vehicle, agents found a loaded handgun.
While on state bond for those charges, LOCKHART continued committing crimes. On October 29, 2018, he fired several shots at the vehicle of a victim, disabling the vehicle.
On November 10, 2018, LOCKHART fired a handgun at a second victim, striking the victim in the leg. LOCKHART’s bullet fractured the victim’s femur. LOCKHART later spoke to the victim’s mother and admitted to the shooting.
On December 2, 2018, LOCKHART fired a handgun at a third victim, striking the victim in the leg, fracturing the fibula. The victim sped away from LOCKHART and called 911. In a Wal-Mart parking lot, police found the victim, who had lost a significant amount of blood. A tourniquet was applied to the victim’s leg. The victim’s pulse stopped, and officers performed CPR until medics arrived. Fortunately, the victim survived. The victim later identified LOCKHART as the shooter.
On November 13, 2019, LOCKHART entered a plea of guilty to distribution of a quantity of cocaine base (crack) (Counts One and Two); possession with intent to distribute quantities of cocaine base (crack), cocaine, and fentanyl (Count Four); and possession of a firearm by a felon (Count Six).
The Court imposed a sentence of 240 months on Counts One, Two, and Four, and a sentence of 120 months on Count Six, concurrent with each other. Because LOCKHART committed the offenses while on federal supervised release, the Court imposed a sentence of 37 months, consecutive, for that violation. When LOCKHART is released from prison, he will be on federal supervised release for the remainder of his life.
This prosecution is part of an extensive investigation by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). OCDETF is a joint federal, state, and local cooperative approach to combat drug trafficking and is the nation’s primary tool for disrupting and dismantling major drug trafficking organizations, targeting national and regional level drug trafficking organizations, and coordinating the necessary law enforcement entities and resources to disrupt or dismantle the targeted criminal organization and seize their assets.
This case is part of the United States Attorney’s Office’s Take Back North Carolina Initiative. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. For additional information about this initiative, click here https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Fayetteville Police Department, and the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Scott A. Lemmon prosecuted this case for the government.
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The year 2020 marks the 150th anniversary of the Department of Justice. Learn more about the history of our agency at www.Justice.gov/Celebrating150Years.
Updated January 29, 2020
Topic
Opioids
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