Felon on probation pleads guilty to shooting from vehicle

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — On Wednesday, a 24-year-old admitted to firing a weapon from a vehicle into a U-Haul over the summer.

Austin Snowten pled guilty to discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle in motion and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Snowten was sentenced to 4 to 6 years in prison.

On June 2, 2025, the Wilmington Police Department responded to King’s Tobacco and Vape on Dawson Street regarding a hit and run and shots fired call.

Officers on scene obtained surveillance footage which showed a U-Haul exiting the parking lot when a Suburban SUV pulls into the parking lot. A shot was fired from the driver’s side window striking the U-Haul.

After the shot was fired, the U-Haul fled the scene and collided with another vehicle on Dawson Street, and the Suburban fled the scene on S. 16th Street.

Officers located the U-Haul unoccupied but found blood and a projectile inside.

The individual in the U-Haul was brought to the hospital with a gunshot wound to his hand and was interviewed and gave the story that matched the footage.

Officers also located the Suburban and determined that Snowten was driving the vehicle.

Detectives discovered that Snowten used his mother’s gun during the shooting, and the weapon was found in Wallace.

At the time of the offense, Snowten was a convicted felon and was on supervised probation for a 2023 conviction for discharging a weapon into occupied property out of Columbus County.