CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Xavier Shiheen Mills, 23, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 161 months in prison for carjacking a family at gunpoint, announced Jill Westmoreland Rose, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn, Jr. also ordered Mills to serve three years under court supervision after he is released from prison.
U.S. Attorney Rose is joined in making today’s announcement by C.J. Hyman, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division and Chief Kerr Putney of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).
According to court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on or about January 7, 2015, Mills carjacked a woman, her teenage son, and her other two young children, ages three and four, at a gas station located in Charlotte. According to court records, the family had stopped at the gas station to refill their car, when Mills approached the female victim who was standing by the gas pump, pointed a firearm at her and demanded the car keys, which were inside the vehicle. Court records show that Mills got inside the car to look for the keys, pointed the gun at the male victim seating in the passenger seat, and hit him in the head with the firearm. According to court records, once the male victim was out of the car, Mills fired his gun and the bullet entered a nearby parked unoccupied vehicle, passing through a child’s car seat and driver’s headrest. At that time, the male victim reached into the car, retrieved the keys and gave them to Mills. The male victim was able to pull the two young children out of the car before Mills drove off with the stolen vehicle.
Court records show that Mills was captured on surveillance video and was identified by an individual who knew him and recognized the red backpack Mills was carrying at the time of the carjacking. Law enforcement recovered the stolen vehicle a few days later. Court records indicate that inside the stolen vehicle, law enforcement found Mills’ backpack, ammunition and the firearm he had used to carry out the carjacking. In November 2015, Mills pleaded guilty to one count of carjacking and one count of possession of firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.
“Mills turned a family’s quick stop at a gas station into a nightmare, terrorizing them and carelessly putting their lives, and the lives of other bystanders, in danger. Thankfully, no loss of life occurred. Mills is headed to federal prison but this family will continue to feel the effects of this harrowing experience for a long time. We are grateful to them for their cooperation in the investigation and prosecution," said U.S. Attorney Rose.
“This case is another example of ATF’s commitment to ensure the public’s safety by removing violent criminals from our communities. This result could not have happened without the outstanding partnership between ATF and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department," said Special Agent in Charge Hyman.
Mills will be transferred to custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole.
The investigation was handled by ATF and CMPD. The prosecution for the government was handled by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca McNerney and Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Randall of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
