Charlotte resident Shamel Malik Dove, a 32-year-old with a previous firearm possession conviction, has been handed a 13-year prison sentence followed by five years of supervised release for gun and drug offenses, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Dove's criminal activities were exposed during an investigation by local police into a shooting incident, leading to the discovery of various firearms and a significant quantity of fentanyl.
Dove's history with the law stretches back to 2016 when he served 23 months for illegal firearm possession; however, the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) encountered him once more in February 2023 while executing a search warrant linked to a different shooting investigation, uncovering an arsenal that included two Glock pistols and a Ruger AR-15 pistol, albeit Dove denied awareness of these weapons, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office announcement. Not two months later, Dove was apprehended again, this time found with a firearm and a stash of fentanyl pills in a nearby SUV—the same officer who made the arrest had spotted him near the SUV just prior to the incident.
In a display of cooperation between federal and local law enforcement agencies, the ATF and CMPD worked collaboratively to investigate Dove's activities. Following his guilty plea for possession of a firearm by a felon and with intent to distribute fentanyl, Dove now awaits transfer to a federal prison to commence his sentence.
