Two Miami Men Sentenced for Armed and Violent Carjacking of IRS Employee |
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U.S. Attorney’s Office
22 June 2015
Two Miami men were sentenced today for an armed and violent carjacking in Miami of an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employee.
Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Melissa Chedotal, Special Agent in Charge, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), Hugo J. Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Miami Field Office, George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, Rene Landa, Chief, South Miami Police Department, J.D. Patterson, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department (MDPD), Rodolfo Llanes, Chief, City of Miami Police Department (MPD), and Daniel Oates, Miami Beach Police Department, made the announcement that Ernest Bernard Hammett, 22, and Carl Lee Williams, 23, both of Miami, were sentenced for committing an armed, violent carjacking and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2119(1) and 924(c)(1)(A)(i)-(ii).
Hammett was sentenced to a term of 25 years’ imprisonment. Williams was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. After release from imprisonment, Hammett will serve a term of 10 years of supervised release and Williams will serve a term of five years of supervised release. Both the defendants were also ordered to pay $35,023.25 in restitution.
According to statements made and documents filed in court, Hammett and Williams attacked the victim, an IRS employee, at a parking garage in South Miami on May 29, 2014. They forcibly took the victim’s property, including jewelry, a laptop computer, credit and debit cards and the victim’s vehicle. During the course of the carjacking, Hammett and Williams physically restrained, punched and choked the victim. The defendants also brandished and utilized a .40 caliber handgun to repeatedly strike the victim, causing the victim to suffer serious bodily injury. When another vehicle arrived in the garage, the victim escaped and notified security at the parking garage. Hammett and Williams then fled in the victim’s vehicle, which law enforcement promptly tracked to the Brownsville neighborhood of Miami. Hammett and Williams were arrested after attempting to flee on foot and toss the .40 caliber handgun. In addition to possessing some of the victim’s stolen property, the defendants were further identified through DNA evidence.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of members of the Violence Reduction Partnership, including TIGTA, ATF, FBI, South Miami Police Department, MDPD, MPD, and Miami Beach Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney’s Sean T. McLaughlin and Anita White.
Through its Violence Reduction Partnership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal and local law enforcement allies have sought to dismantle the most violent criminal networks in various neighborhoods in the Southern District of Florida, while simultaneously working with community leaders and concerned citizens to mentor at-risk youth, provide job training, coordinate social services and support the reintegration of ex-offenders (returning citizens) to the community.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.