16-Year Prison Sentence For Charlotte Dollar General Robbery: DOJ

CHARLOTTE, NC — A 20-year-old Charlotte man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison plus three years of supervised released for his role in stealing $510 during an armed robbery of a Dollar General store in April 2020, according to federal prosecutors.

The April 23, 2020 heist occurred at the Dollar General located at 8825 WT Harris Boulevard in Charlotte.

According to court documents, Ishmeel Qyshawn Chapman entered the store with an accomplice, who had a gun.

"Upon entering, Chapman’s accomplice pointed a firearm at customers and a store employee, while Chapman grabbed a customer by the arms and forced him to the cash register counter," the Department of Justice's Eastern District of North Carolina U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

The employee complied, and Chapman's accomplice took money out of the register's cash drawer.

"While the employee was attempting to open the second cash register, Chapman struck the employee on the right side of her head, knocking her to the ground," DOJ said. He then took the gun from his accomplice and while demanding wallets and purses, pointed it at customers, including a one-year-old child. As he ran from the building, he also struck a customer on the shoulder with the weapon.

All total, Chapman and his accomplice grabbed $510 from the cash registers, according to DOJ.

Following the robbery, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers located his getaway vehicle and Chapman was taken into custody "shortly thereafter," DOJ said. During a Dec. 1 court appearance, Chapman pleaded guilted to robbery of a business affecting interstate commerce, and possession and brandishing a firearm during, in relation to and and furtherance of a crime of violence.

Chapman, who is currently in federal custody in the Western District of North Carolina, is set to be transferred into the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons, DOJ said.