Validated Gang Member and Six-Time Wilmington Felon Receives Over 17 Years for Carjacking and Firearm Offense

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Unque Tyshaun Temoney, age 29, was sentenced today to 210 months in federal prison for carjacking and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. On November 29, 2023, Temoney pled guilty to the charges.

“We will not normalize armed robbery, carjacking, and dangerous high-speed flight in Eastern North Carolina,” said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley.  “Cases like this, involving validated gang members and repeat violent felons, are ripe for federal prosecution.  For years, New Hanover County has funded a special prosecutor to work with our office to bring cases like this one to federal court.  Our Violent Crime Action Plan (VCAP) partnership with Chief Williams and Sheriff McMahon uses that resource to take felons like Unque Temoney off the streets and on the fast track to federal prison.” 

“I’ve said it before and I’ll emphasize it again, firearms in the hands of convicted felons is something that we will not tolerate in the City of Wilmington,” said Chief Donny Williams. “We will continue to devote countless hours to ensuring that these violent offenders are kept off our streets. As we have seen both locally and nationwide, dangerous situations happen when weapons fall into the hands of the wrong people. I want to thank our women and men for their dedication to this effort and I am also grateful to our partner agencies for assisting with this important case. Because of their continued hard work and dedication, this offender will no longer be able to harm our community.”

According to court documents and other information presented in court, on December 5, 2020, officers with the Wilmington Police Department responded to a call on 9^th Street in Wilmington regarding an armed robbery and carjacking. A responding officer saw the victim’s vehicle drive off at a high rate of speed and he activated his lights and sirens to initiate a traffic stop. The driver, later identified as Temoney, refused to stop and fled from law enforcement. Temoney ultimately crashed the vehicle into a parked car and fled on foot from law enforcement. After a brief pursuit, Temoney was apprehended.

After speaking with the victim and eyewitnesses on scene, the investigation revealed that Temoney put on a ski mask, brandished a revolver, and took the victim’s car keys and wallet before stealing the victim’s vehicle and fleeing from the police. The arresting officer on scene located a .380 revolver, loaded with five rounds of ammunition, on the driver’s seat of the vehicle Temoney stole. Laboratory testing later confirmed that Temoney’s DNA was on the firearm.

Temoney has been previously convicted of six felony offenses to include – possession of a stolen motor vehicle, two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, breaking and entering, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and possession with intent to manufacture, sell, and deliver a counterfeit controlled substance. Temoney was also out on bond for numerous state charges when he committed the offense.  

Temoney has been previously validated as a member of the Gangster Disciple Street Gang by the Wilmington Police Department and by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III.   The Federal Bureau of Investigation Coastal Carolina Safe Street’s Gang Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Wilmington Police Department, and the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case and Special Assistant United States Attorney William Van Trigt and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charity Wilson prosecuted the case. Special Assistant United States Attorney William Van Trigt represents the government.  Van Trigt is a prosecutor with the New Hanover County District Attorney’s Office assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office to prosecute federal violent crimes and other criminal matters.  This has been made possible by a grant funded by New Hanover County.

This conviction is a result of the ongoing VCAP initiative which is collaborative effort with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, working with the community, to identify and address the most significant drivers of violent crime. VCAP involves focused and strategic enforcement, and interagency coordination and intelligence-led policing.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 7:22-cr-00092-D-001.