Columbia Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Charge
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Wilbert Green, Jr., age 30, of Columbia, South Carolina, pleaded guilty in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Evidence presented in court established that at approximately 8:45 p.m. on April 13, 2018, officers of the Columbia Police Department and the Midlands Gang Unit were patrolling the Lorick Circle area of Columbia with special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after having received several firearm-related reports the previous month. As they drove through an apartment complex on Lorick Circle, officers/agents observed what appeared to be a black pistol magazine protruding from Green’s right rear pants pocket. Officers/agents exited their vehicles and made contact with Green, who was also holding an open container of beer, in violation of the open container law. Green failed to comply with directives of officers/agents to quit reaching behind to his back pocket and to turn around and put his hands on a nearby car. Green advised officers/agents, “I know the law….I just got out of prison.” Officers secured Green and located a loaded Hi-Point 9mm with an extended magazine in Green’s rear right pants pocket. A ballistics analysis revealed that the Hi-Point 9mm handgun was linked to shell casings recovered from an unsolved July 2017 shooting off Garners Ferry Road. Officers/agents also learned that Green had outstanding warrants from 2015 for attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in Clarendon County.
Federal law prohibits Green from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon prior North Carolina and South Carolina state convictions for assault with a deadly weapon to inflict serious injury (N.C. 2009); criminal domestic violence, wherein he threatened a female with a firearm and slapped her (S.C. 2013); and assault and battery 1st degree, wherein he shot a man during a robbery (S.C. 2015).
Green faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of court-ordered supervision on the felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition charge.
Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie of Columbia accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after she has received and reviewed a presentence report prepared by the United States Probation Office. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.
The case was investigated by ATF and the Columbia Police Department. It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
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Lance Crick (864) 282-2105