Columbia Man Sentenced to 37 Months in Federal Prison for Possession of a Firearm
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Jeffrey Wilson Walker, 35, of Columbia was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on July 16, 2021, an officer with the City of Columbia Police Department responded to a call involving Walker. When the initial officer arrived, he found Walker asleep in the driver’s seat of a stationary car that had crashed into a mailbox. The driver’s side window was down, and the officer saw a firearm in Walker’s lap. The officer removed the loaded gun from Walker’s lap, and when other officers arrived, they attempted to wake Walker up.
Once Walker was awake, he appeared to be intoxicated and refused to get out of the car after multiple commands from officers. The officers used OC spray and physically removed Walker from the car. After Walker was removed from the vehicle, the officers called EMS to treat Walker for the OC spray. During an inventory search of Walker’s car, law enforcement found another handgun in a bag.
Federal law prohibits Walker from possessing firearms and ammunition based on a prior conviction for Armed Robbery.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Walker to 37 months in prison, to be followed by a two-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the City of Columbia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case.
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Brook Andrews, First Assistant United States Attorney, brook.andrews@usdoj.gov, (803) 929-3000