RALEIGH - United States Attorney Robert J. Higdon, Jr. announced that today in federal court, Chief United States District Judge James C. Dever III sentenced RASHEEN JEROME ARNOLD, 24, of Elizabeth City, North Carolina to 114 months imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
ARNOLD was named in an Indictment filed on July 25, 2018 charging him with Possession of a Firearm by a Felon. On Jan. 22, 2019, ARNOLD pled guilty to those charges.
On April 25, 2018 ARNOLD approached victims outside of Friendly Check Cashing in Edenton. ARNOLD demanded money and when they said they didn’t have any, he pulled a firearm from his pocket and said he would kill them if they did not give him money. One victim went into Friendly Check Cashing and returned with $12. ARNOLD said that wasn’t enough and demanded more. This time when the victim went into the check cashing business the victim called 911 and reported that he was being robbed. Officers with the Edenton Police Department responded to the area and ARNOLD ran when he saw the officers. The officer detained ARNOLD after a brief foot chase and a firearm was recovered from ARNOLD’S pants pocket. ARNOLD is a previously convicted felon.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime.
That effort has been implemented through the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina. This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violent crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement. : https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Edenton Police Department as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charity Wilson.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
