Memphis, TN – Carlos Jones, 21, has pled guilty to armed carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. D. Michael Dunavant, U.S. Attorney announced the guilty plea today.
According to information presented in court, on July 13, 2018, at approximately 9 p.m., the victim was washing his 2013 Volkswagen Passat at a local carwash on Holmes Road when approached by two suspects, both of whom pointed firearms and demanded his vehicle. The victim said one of the suspects pointed a gun at him from behind and said, “Get the hell away from the car and go.”
Surveillance video showed the suspects entered the carwash in a white vehicle, exited the vehicle and approached the victim. Footage captured the victim’s vehicle leaving the carwash, followed by the suspect’s vehicle. The victim’s vehicle was tracked by GPS and later recovered from an apartment complex in Southaven, Mississippi.
Fingerprints belonging to co-defendant Angelo Bunting, 22, were recovered from the interior of the vehicle. The victim positively identified both co-defendants as the suspects responsible for the carjacking.
On September 23, 2020, Jones entered a guilty plea to the charges of carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.
Jones’ sentencing is scheduled for January 7, 2021, before U.S. District Court Judge Mark S. Norris, where Jones faces up to 15 years on the carjacking charge, and a mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 7 years for brandishing a firearm. Charges against Bunting are still pending. There is no parole in the federal system.
U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said, “Armed carjacking is a cowardly act involving short sighted gain with long term consequences for both victims and offenders. When violent criminals act impulsively, we will respond deliberately with the full weight and force of federal sanctions to suppress, punish, and incapacitate.”
The Memphis Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated this case.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel D. Winnig and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Rogers are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government. SAUSA Winnig is currently assigned from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office for prosecuting violent crimes and firearms offenses in federal court.