Charlotte Armed Career Criminal Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Firearms Violations

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Chief U.S. District Judge Frank D. Whitney sentenced a Charlotte armed career criminal to 20 years in prison for firearms violations, announced Anne M. Tompkins, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Shirley Ingram, Jr., a/k/a Rahim, 56, of Charlotte, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Wayne L. Dixie, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, joins U.S. Attorney Tompkins in making today’s announcement.

In January 2011, following a four-day trial, a Charlotte jury convicted Ingram for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to evidence presented at trial and yesterday’s sentencing hearing, on August 8, 2009, law enforcement responded to a 911 emergency call involving domestic violence. Court records indicate that when law enforcement arrived at the scene and while investigating the call, they discovered that Ingram had a Glock, Model 27, .40 caliber pistol in a cooler in the trunk of a 2003 BMW vehicle he was driving. Along with the pistol in the car, law enforcement also found marijuana residue and a digital scale. Ingram’s prior felony convictions prohibit him from carrying a firearm.

At sentencing, Ingram was deemed an armed career criminal and received an enhanced sentence. Ingram had been previously convicted of over 20 crimes, including second degree kidnapping; breaking, entering and larceny; assault on a female; and possession of controlled substances. Ingram had been previously deemed an armed career criminal in 1993 and was sentenced to 235 months in prison in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. In that case, Ingram was observed by a Charlotte police officer walking down a street in Charlotte carrying a shotgun, which was later found to be stolen.

“Ingram’s 20-year prison sentence was warranted given the facts of this case and his extensive criminal history. Protecting our community by taking violent repeat offenders off the streets remains one of the cornerstone functions of this office,” said U.S. Attorney Tompkins.

Ingram has been in federal custody in the Western District of North Carolina since his arrest in April of 2010. Upon designation of a federal facility, he will be transferred into the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.

The ATF, assisted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, handled the investigation, as part of ATF’s ongoing commitment to reduce violent crime and other threats to public safety. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann Claire Phillips, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.