Erie Man Sentenced To 18 Years’ Imprisonment For Discharging A Firearm During A Crime Of Violence

 WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on March 5, 2021, Jimmy Carter, age 56, of Erie, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 216 months’ imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. Brann for discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Carter, along with two others,  robbed a Unimart convenience store in Ferguson Township, Pennsylvania, in January 2017.  During the course of this robbery, Carter fired a handgun at the proprietor of the store (who was not injured).

The case was investigated by the Ferguson Township Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Geoffrey W. MacArthur prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce crime.