North Charlotte Today

Daquan Hampton, 27, of Clover, South Carolina, was sentenced on Monday to 13 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for a series of armed robberies in Charlotte. The announcement was made by Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

Joining U.S. Attorney King in making the announcement were Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD).

According to court documents and the sentencing hearing, on June 8, 2022, at approximately 11:22 p.m., a Waffle House employee was approached by two masked men with guns drawn while in the restaurant's parking lot. The men forced the employee inside and demanded money from the cash registers. When informed that he could not open the safe without a key, one suspect, later identified as Hampton, pistol-whipped the victim and took his fanny pack before exiting through the back door.

Court records indicate that two days later, on June 10, 2022, two men robbed a Domino’s Pizza at gunpoint. They approached a delivery driver sitting in his car and forced him inside at gunpoint along with another employee they encountered inside. Hampton began counting down from five when told it would take time to open the safe. He then pistol-whipped an employee and fired three rounds at the safe; shrapnel injured one employee's hand. Hampton and his accomplice fled with $125 from the business and $100 taken from an employee.

Approximately 18 hours after this incident, two masked men entered a Papa John’s Pizza restaurant through its front door. They demanded money and ordered all six occupants to a back room where they were held at gunpoint while employees accessed cash registers and safes. One man pistol-whipped an employee who could not open a register. The suspects fled with $880 from the store's registers.

On June 14, 2022, CMPD officers arrested Hampton during a traffic stop for a violation after recovering a firearm he attempted to discard during the stop. Inside his vehicle were marijuana, $1,417 in cash, and two loaded Glock 23 magazines.

Hampton pleaded guilty on August 1, 2023 to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery; Hobbs Act robbery and aiding and abetting; and possession and discharging of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Hampton remains in federal custody awaiting transfer to a federal Bureau of Prisons facility upon designation.

U.S. Attorney King thanked FBI agents and CMPD officers for their investigation efforts. Assistant U.S Attorneys Alfredo De La Rosa and Regina Pack prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), aimed at reducing violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and community organizations.

The Department launched an enhanced violent crime reduction strategy on May 26, 2021 focusing on fostering community trust; supporting preventive community-based organizations; setting strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring results.