South Carolina Man Is Sentenced To 13 Years For String Of Armed Robberies

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – 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 string of armed robberies in Charlotte, announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

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) join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.

According to filed court documents and the sentencing hearing, on June 8, 2022, at approximately 11:22 p.m., a Waffle House employee was in the parking lot of the restaurant in Charlotte when two masked men approached him with guns drawn. The two men forced the employee inside the restaurant and demanded money from the cash registers. The employee replied that he was not able to open the safe without a key. At one point, one of the suspects, later identified as Hampton, used his firearm to pistol-whip the victim in the side of the head and took the victim’s fanny pack. Hampton and the other individual then exited the Waffle House through the back door.

Court records show that two days later, on June 10, 2022, a distraught Domino’s Pizza employee placed a call to 911 to report that two men had robbed the business at gunpoint, stealing cash. According to the victim, two masked men armed with black handguns had approached the victim, who was a delivery driver, while he was sitting in a car. The suspects forced the victims inside the restaurant at gunpoint. Upon entering, the suspects encountered another employee and held him at gunpoint as well while they demanded that the employees open the safe. One of the employees said it would take a while, and at that point Hampton started counting down from five, causing the employees to believe that they were going to be shot. Hampton then pistol‐whipped one of the employees in the back of the head. Hampton then fired three rounds at the safe, and shrapnel from the shots struck one of the employees in the hand, causing lacerations and bleeding. Hampton and his accomplice then forced both employees to the back of the business with guns pointed at their heads. Hampton and his accomplice fled with $125 in cash they had stolen from the business and $100 they took from an employee.

Approximately 18 hours after the Domino’s Pizza robbery, two masked men entered through the front door of a Papa John’s Pizza restaurant located in Charlotte. One of the men demanded money and ordered all six occupants to the back room where he made them get on the floor. The second man remained with the victims at gunpoint while the other had employees access the cash registers and safe. The employee could not open one of the registers, so one of the men pistol‐whipped him, causing a laceration to the victim’s head. The men took $880 from the store’s registers and fled out of the back door on foot.

On June 14, 2022, a CMPD officer conducted a traffic stop of Hampton’s vehicle for a traffic violation. Hampton was arrested after the officer recovered a firearm Hampton had attempted to discard during the traffic stop. Inside Hampton’s vehicle, law enforcement found marijuana, $1,417 in cash, and two loaded Glock 23 magazines.

On August 1, 2023, Hampton pleaded guilty 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 is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.

In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King thanked the FBI and CMPD for their investigation of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alfredo De La Rosa and Regina Pack prosecuted the case.

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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.