York Man Indicted on Federal Carjacking and Firearms Charges

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District Pennsylvania announced the indictment by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg Wednesday of Ronald Darnell Sweeney, Jr., age 22, of York, Pennsylvania, for carjacking and use of a firearm in furtherance of a federal crime of violence.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, on October 5, 2011, Sweeney allegedly carjacked a vehicle in York at gunpoint and shot the driver in the back. The driver sustained serious and permanent bodily injury.

If convicted, Sweeney faces a term of imprisonment of up to life.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the York Police Department. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Terz.

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An indictment or information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.