Source: US FBI
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Terry Sherwood Slade, 55, was sentenced to 188 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release today after he was convicted of Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Slade was also ordered to serve an additional 12 months and a day for violating his supervised release.
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on November 20, 2023, while Slade was under federal supervision for a prior robbery conviction, he entered the House of Clouds Smoke Shop located in Charlotte and requested cigarettes from the store’s employee. When the store employee opened the register, Slade demanded money and threatened to shoot her. Slade then put his hand in his jacket pocket and gestured toward the employee. He then walked behind the counter into the employee area and took money from the register along with cigarettes and fled the scene.
According to court records, on December 3, 2023, Slade entered Nick’s Arcade located in Charlotte. Upon entering the store, Slade approached a security guard and grabbed her firearm. Following a brief struggle between Slade, the security guard, and a cashier, Slade grabbed the security guard’s firearm and pointed the weapon at the two employees. While armed, Slade went to the arcade’s private office and stole cash located in a safe before fleeing the scene.
On December 13, 2023, an individual contacted the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) to report he had been shot at by a man with whom he’d previously had an argument. During the investigation, the victim identified Slade as the shooter. CMPD officers arrested Slade. At the time of the arrest, Slade possessed the firearm he’d taken from security guard during the arcade store robbery. CMPD analyzed a cartridge collected at the scene of the reported shooting and determined it matched the security guard’s firearm found on Slade when he was arrested.
In September 2024, Slade pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Court records indicate that Slade has a prior federal conviction for Hobbs Act robbery, and multiple state felony convictions in North Carolina, including for Assault With a Dangerous Weapon with Intent to Kill Inflicting Serious Injury and Common Law Robbery. Slade was sentenced as an armed career criminal.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson credited the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department for the investigation of this case and thanked the U.S. Probation Office for its assistance.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.