20-Year-Old Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Carjacking

Memphis, TN – Marcus Burton, 20, has been sentenced to 117 months in federal prison for carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph C. Murphy Jr., announced the sentence today.

According to information presented in court, on November 15, 2020, at approximately 2:30 a.m., officers from the Memphis Police Department responded to a carjacking at Western Park Drive and Deerland Street. The victim informed the officers that while parking his vehicle, a brown 2014 Mercedes-Benz E350, he was confronted by an individual armed with a silver handgun. Burton pointed the handgun at the back of the victim’s head and demanded everything he had. He then took the keys to the Mercedes Benz and drove away in the victim's vehicle.

Several hours later, as the victim and his friends searched for his stolen vehicle, they located the car and immediately notified law enforcement. On November 15, 2020, Memphis Police officers recovered the carjacked vehicle, unoccupied. The victim positively identified Burton, on November 17, 2020, as the person responsible for the carjacking.

Burton pled guilty to the carjacking and brandishing a firearm on August 20, 2021.

On November 22, 2021, U.S. District Judge Sheryl L. Lipman sentenced Burton to 117 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Memphis Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Wendy K. Cornejo and SAUSA Samuel D. Winnig prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. SAUSA Winnig is currently assigned from the Shelby County District Attorney General’s Office for prosecuting violent crimes and firearms offenses in federal court.

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