Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal grand jury in Charlotte returned a criminal bill of indictment charging Anil Dabydeen, 39, of Charlotte, with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for allegedly shooting at vehicles on I-485, announced Lawrence J. Cameron, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.
Bennie Mims, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Johnny Jennings of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron in making today’s announcement.
According to the indictment and a filed criminal complaint, on January 8, 2025, at 3:49 p.m., CMPD officers were dispatched to I-485 at the South Tryon Street exit for a reported shooting. Court documents allege that CMPD received several 911 calls describing a male operating a white Honda sedan on the highway who was shooting at passing vehicles. Law enforcement arrived on the scene and located two victims who had been struck by gunfire. The victims told the officers that they were traveling south on I-485 when their vehicle was struck by gunfire. While on the scene, the officers reviewed a video shot by a witness. It is alleged that the video showed a white sedan stopped on the side of the highway, and an individual, later identified as Dabydeen, walking around the vehicle brandishing a firearm and pointing it at passing vehicles.
According to allegations in court documents, while the officers were investigating the incident, they observed a white Honda sedan traveling south at a high rate of speed. The officers recognized the vehicle as the one observed during the shooting and began to pursue the vehicle. After a brief pursuit, Dabydeen stopped the vehicle, and he was taken into custody. It is alleged that, over the course of the arrest, officers recovered from Dabydeen a live round of 9mm ammunition, and a Taurus, Model G3c, 9mm pistol that had been reported stolen. It is further alleged that Dabydeen has a prior felony conviction for 1st Degree Manslaughter in New York, and he is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Dabydeen is currently in custody. The charge of possession of a firearm by a felon carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.
The charges against Dabydeen are allegations, and the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron thanked the ATF and CMPD for leading the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfredo De La Rosa of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case.