Charlotte Man Charged With Illegal Possession Of A Firearm Appears Before A Federal Judge

Press Release

The Defendant Allegedly Used a Firearm to Shoot at Children

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - D'Angelo De'Mara McNeil, 34, of Charlotte, appeared in federal court today on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney King in making today's announcement.

According to allegations in the indictment and today's court proceedings, on June 2, 2022, CMPD responded to a 911 call at an apartment complex in Charlotte, about an individual shooting at children. The caller indicated that after the incident, the individual - later identified as McNeil - had fled the scene in his vehicle. CMPD located McNeil in his parked vehicle in the parking lot of another apartment complex in the area. CMPD officers approached McNeil and the defendant was taken into custody. The arresting officers also retrieved a handgun from underneath the front passenger seat of the vehicle. The firearm's magazine was empty and there was one round in the chamber.

According to court records, investigating officers spoke with an individual who had witnessed the shooting. The witness told the officers that two young boys had run up to him and told him that McNeil was allegedly shooting at them. The witness also indicated that he then observed McNeil chasing children, heard two gunshots, and saw McNeil put a firearm in his pocket before driving away. A second witness told the officers that two children had run up to her and asked to be let into the apartment complex's leasing office because a man with a gun was chasing them.

Following the court hearing, McNeil was remanded into federal custody. The charge of possession of a firearm by a felon carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

The charge in the indictment is an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The ATF and CMPD investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Shavonn Bennette of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.

Updated July 30, 2024