Columbia Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison for Theft of Firearms

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Jonathan Donnell Thompson, a/k/a “Joe-Nae,” a/k/a “Jonathan Joe Nate Thompson,” age 37, of Columbia, South Carolina, was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee.

Evidence presented to the court showed on August 5, 2016, Tony’s Guns and Police Supplies, a federal firearms licensee in Sumter, was burglarized and approximately 75 handguns were stolen. The investigation revealed similarities between that burglary and other burglaries of liquor stores in several counties. Law enforcement was able to identify Cedrick K. Reddick, age 26, of Columbia, as one of the suspects after a DNA match linked him to a burglary of one of the liquor stores. Additionally, a search warrant at Reddick’s apartment revealed a 9mm handgun stolen during the burglary of Tony’s Guns and Police Supplies. Both Thompson and his co-defendant Reddick were charged federally with the gun store theft. Of the 75 firearms stolen, only 21 of them have been recovered by law enforcement, some in the hands of felons who are prohibited from possessing firearms and were prosecuted federally.

Thompson has prior state convictions for driving under suspension (two separate counts), forgery less than $5,000, simple possession of marijuana (two separate counts), possession of cocaine (two separate counts), and receiving stolen goods. One week prior to this August 5, 2016 incident, Thompson pleaded guilty in Richland County to malicious injury to real property stemming from a February 2016 attempted burglary at a Columbia liquor store.

United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs sentenced Thompson to 48 months in federal prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

Thompson’s co-defendant Reddick was sentenced on April 12, 2019, to a total of 84 months (7 years) in federal prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision. That 84-month sentence is comprised of 70 months on the new firearm convictions and a consecutive 14-month revocation of his prior federal supervision.

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Clinton Police Department, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. This case 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. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

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