WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A second Concord man who was shown waving handguns in a music video while having outstanding warrants was sentenced to more than eight years in prison Wednesday.
Ajenee Semuell Forte, 31, was convicted in November on possession of a firearm by a felon.
According to court documents in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in June 2021, detectives with the Cabarrus County Sheriff’s Office discovered a social media account belonging to Ahmad Jalon Thomas, 24, also known as “Cap Shotta,” that contained a link to a music video showing Thomas and Forte waving and pointing handguns.
At the time the video named “Life on the Run” was posted on YouTube and Instagram, both co-defendants had outstanding orders for arrest. Forte was also on federal supervised release resulting from a prior conviction for the same offense.
On June 23, 2021, members of the United States Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Forte at a Concord home, and a search was conducted of the same apartment unit where the music video was reportedly filmed. There, court documents say officers found firearms, ammunition, drug paraphernalia and 235.4 grams of marijuana.
At the time of the firearm possession, Forte had previously been convicted of a felony firearm possession offense and was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. He pled guilty to his charge on Nov. 10, 2022.
U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs sentenced Forte to a 100-month term of imprisonment and a three-year term of federal supervised release.
Thomas was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release on June 22 for the same crime.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Principe.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence.
