York Man Indicted on Federal Carjacking and Firearms Charges

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
June 21, 2012

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District Pennsylvania announced the indictment by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg Wednesday of Ronald Darnell Sweeney, Jr., age 22, of York, Pennsylvania, for carjacking and use of a firearm in furtherance of a federal crime of violence.

According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, on October 5, 2011, Sweeney allegedly carjacked a vehicle in York at gunpoint and shot the driver in the back. The driver sustained serious and permanent bodily injury.

If convicted, Sweeney faces a term of imprisonment of up to life.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the York Police Department. Prosecution is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Joseph J. Terz.

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An indictment or information is not evidence of guilt but simply a description of the charge made by the grand jury and/or United States Attorney against a defendant. A charged defendant is presumed innocent until a jury returns a unanimous finding that the United States has proven the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt or until the defendant has pled guilty to the charges.