Two From Louisiana Face Up to Life in Prison After Being Convicted of Multiple Violent Carjacking Offenses

Louisiana – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that Harold Foster, age 31, and Marc Dalton, age 31, of New Orleans, Louisiana were found guilty as charged on November 8, 2022, after a two-day jury trial before United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey. The defendants were facing two counts of carjacking in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2119(1) and two counts of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 924(c)(1)(A)(ii).

On April 10, 2020, Foster and Dalton carjacked the driver of a white Chevrolet Equinox at the Eastside Cash and Carry convenience store on Chef Menteur Highway in New Orleans, Louisiana, according to trial testimony. In order to commit the crime, the defendants held the victim at gunpoint with a handgun. They then forced him into his car and abducted him for a brief while before abandoning him on the side of the road.

Foster and Dalton were also apprehended soon following a second carjacking on April 12, 2020, according to testimony presented at trial. The two victims were riding in a Mercedes C300 on St. Peter Street in New Orleans when the defendants held them at gunpoint with a semi-automatic Taurus handgun. The offenders kidnapped the two victims and then abandoned them on the side of the road, similar to the previous offense. The defendants were apprehended by the New Orleans Police Department shortly after the carjacking in the stolen Mercedes, following a high-speed pursuit on Downman Road.

Foster and Dalton face up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000.00 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100.00 special assessment fee for each count of carjacking. The defendants face a mandatory minimum of seven years imprisonment for each count, which must run consecutive to all other counts; the maximum sentence for each of those counts is life imprisonment, up to a $250,000.00 fine, up to five years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100.00 special assessment fee.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to prevent violent crime and gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy to strengthen PSN based on the following core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

U.S. Attorney Evans applauded the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office in investigating this case. The prosecution is led by Assistant US Attorneys Charles D. Strauss, David E. Haller, and J. Benjamin Myers.