With more than 10 years of experience in some of North Carolina’s most serious and notorious cases, we have a proven track-record of securing outstanding results for our clients.

In September 2020, Damon Chetson won three gun charges in one of the first major federal trials held in the Eastern District of North Carolina since the outbreak of COVID.  His client was found not guilty of two counts of using a firearm "in furtherance" of a drug trafficking offense and of one count of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.  Mr. Chetson won a result better than any plea offered by the federal government, as the jury thoroughly rejected the Government's assertions about these firearms in closing.

In 2019 alone, Damon Chetson tried four jury trials, more trials than some criminal defense attorneys try in a lifetime. In each jury trial, he secured victories. He was the only lawyer out of 82 in the largest federal RICO prosecution in U.S. history to win at trial, beating a murder charge that would've sent his client away for life. Mr. Chetson saved one client from the death penalty in a Wake Forest triple homicide in Wake County Superior Court (profiled in The Washington Post) and avoided a firearms conviction in a federal trial in the Eastern District of North Carolina for a client who would have received 10 years in prison. Mr. Chetson avoided a first degree murder conviction in the 2014 shooting death at Club Bodi in Raleigh’s warehouse district (WRAL).

In other recent cases, Mr. Chetson secured a rare “no contest” plea in another high-profile case involving a Mayor’s son who faced dozens of charges of child pornography; the client was sentenced to probation.

Also in 2019, Mr. Chetson won release on probation of his client originally charged with first degree murder (WRAL TV) when a Superior Court Judge granted Mr. Chetson’s request for “extraordinary mitigation,” the first time that judge handed down such a judgment in the judge’s 15 year judicial career. Another Chetson Firm client – originally facing a 10 year mandatory minimum – received a 40 month sentence in the Eastern District of North Carolina after pleading guilty to trafficking in more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine from Texas when a federal judge granted Mr. Chetson’s request for a “safety valve” reduction under 18 USC 3553(f).

And Mr. Chetson won dismissal of all charges and the release of a client accused of First Degree Kidnapping and Forcible Rape after a bond hearing in which Mr. Chetson and his investigator were able to show the Court that Raleigh police detectives had arrested an innocent person. The case has been expunged.

In 2019, Mr. Chetson resolved a major drug trafficking case involving a cartel-related operation in which his client received the "safety valve" and a 3 year sentence.  Mr. Chetson resolved two other murders in 2019 - one with a plea to probation in which the judge granted his client "extraordinary mitigation" after a two-hour sentencing hearing.  In a second plea, his client received 7 years in the 2017 shotgun death of his wife who he was accused of assaulting and abusing for more than 15 years.

Mr. Chetson also was able to avoid prosecution in several child pornography cases in 2019 and 2018 by providing early assistance to his client.  In another case, a client who hired the firm in a federal child pornography case was sentenced to half the time recommended in the probation Pre-Sentencing Report.

Whether you face a federal indictment, felony warrants in North Carolina state court, a misdemeanor citation, or an investigation by your employer, your university, or the local police, we have extensive experience in all aspects of the criminal process – from Grand Jury investigations to pre-arrest inquiries from detectives, licensing boards, or audits by the IRS, North Carolina Department of Revenue.

As a trained pilot, Mr. Chetson has even represented clients facing regulatory review by the FAA. He represents people before licensing boards, USOC SafeSport tribunals, and in Title IX hearings.

Mr. Chetson, his paralegal Dena Reese-Booze, and their network of licensed investigators, mitigation specialists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and forensic experts stand ready to help you in your time of need.

Mr. Chetson is a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the North Carolina Advocates for Justice, and the North Carolina Bar Association.