CHARLOTTE, N.C. — United States Attorney Andrew Murray announced Ronteeni Pak Belk of Charlotte will serve 180 months in prison for the charges Hobbs Act robbery and the unlawful possession of a firearm as a felon. Alongside Murray, U.S. District Judge Max O. Cogburn Jr. ordered Belk to serve an additional three years under court supervision following his initial sentence.
John A. Strong, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Charlotte Division, and Chief Kerr Puttney of CMPD joined Murray as he thanked the FBI and CMPD for their dedicated involvement in the investigation.
Officials say Belk robbed the Cash America Pawn at gunpoint on Mar. 13, 2017, located at 2500 N. Tryon St. in Charlotte. At approximately 9:00 AM, Belk entered the store and demanded money from employees while threatening them with a handgun. Surveillance video also shows Belk pointing the gun at store customers, demanding they give him personal items. A female employee complied with Belk’s demands and handed over cash from the registers in store. The same employee and a customer also gave their wallets to Belk, shortly before he fired a shot at the ground and fled the scene. After he left the store, the female employee called 911 to notify police of the incident.
CMPD officers were able to locate Belk in a black Hyundai Elantra and followed him as he attempted to flee the officers. Ultimately, Belk crashed his vehicle at the corner of N. Graham Street and W. Sugar Creek Road, where he then fled the scene on foot. Officers were able to stop him in a wooded lot within the 5700 block of N. Graham Street. CMPD officers confiscated a chrome Raven Arms .25 caliber pistol with four live rounds, a glove and the employee’s wallet from Belk after he was apprehended. The stolen cash was found near the site where Belk crashed his vehicle.
Belk was already a convicted felon at the time of the incident, and therefore, was prohibited from possessing a firearm.
“Court records indicate that due to Belk’s prior criminal convictions for
robbery with a dangerous weapon, he qualified for a sentencing enhancement as an armed career criminal,” said the Department of Justice and U.S. Attorney Murray in a statement.
Belk is currently being held in federal custody without the possibility of parole and will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons when he receives a designation of a federal facility.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Bozin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte, is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods. Attorney General Jeff Sessions revamped PSN in 2017 in order to bring together all levels of law enforcement, from federal to local, as well as affected communities in an attempt to reduce violent crime.
