A 21-year-old Tulsa man who took part in a violent but unsuccessful carjacking was sentenced Thursday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.
U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson sentenced Dwight Vernon Leleux to 144 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release. The defendant was further ordered to pay the victim $3, 229.09 in restitution for medical costs, to be paid jointly and severally with his co-defendant, Waylon Richard Goss.
“Dwight Leleux will spend 12 years in federal prison for his brazen acts of violence in our community,” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “This Project Safe Neighborhoods prosecution is the result of close collaborative work between FBI agents, Tulsa police officers, and federal prosecutors who are all committed to reducing violent crime.”
“The FBI and our law enforcement partners are firmly committed to protecting neighborhoods from senseless, unprovoked crimes like Leleux’s violent carjacking attempt,” said Special Agent in Charge Edward Gray of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “Today’s sentence demonstrates that we won’t tolerate this sort of criminal behavior here in Tulsa, nor anywhere throughout the state of Oklahoma.”
On Dec. 8, 2021, Leleux pleaded guilty to carjacking and carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
Leleux admitted that he and another individual used force when they attempted to carjack a Honda CR-V on March 5, 2021.
According to court documents, Leleux and his accomplice, Waylon Richard Goss, requested and received a ride from the victim. While in the back seat, Leleux first told Goss that he planned to rob the victim and showed Goss a .380 caliber semiautomatic pistol he was carrying in his waistband.
Once they stopped at the intended location, Leleux opened the driver’s door, pointed the firearm at the victim, hit him in the head and face with the firearm and his fists, and grabbed him by the throat. He demanded the victim hand over the vehicle, but the victim refused. Leleux and Goss then pulled the victim from the vehicle and continued assaulting him.
The victim was able to fight off his attackers and get back into the CR-V. Leleux then discharged his firearm at the vehicle’s right front tire as the victim drove away. The victim suffered significant cuts and swelling to his face and head and sought medical attention.
Goss, 20, of Tulsa, previously pleaded guilty to carjacking and was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
Judge Wilson is a visiting judge from the Eastern District of Arkansas. The FBI and Tulsa Police Department conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David D. Whipple prosecuted the case.