Felon Responsible for Three State Police Chase Sentenced to 71 Months Imprisonment on Firearm Charge

Contact Person: Jamie Scoen (864) 282-2100

Columbia, South Carolina---- Acting United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Mark Anthony Stone, age 32, of Rabun, Georgia was sentenced today in federal court in Anderson, South Carolina, for one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).  United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain of Anderson sentenced Stone to seventy-one months imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a one-hundred dollar special assessment.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on June 29, 2015, Macon County, Georgia law enforcement officers attempted to pull Stone over for speeding.  Stone fled from police, beginning a chase through Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, jeopardizing the lives of members of law enforcement and the public.  Stone was eventually arrested in Oconee County, South Carolina, where he fled from officers on foot.  Inside Stone’s vehicle, officers found a loaded .22 caliber rifle with a round in the chamber.  Due to Stone’s prior convictions, including burglaries and aggravated assault, Stone was prohibited from carrying firearms at the time of his arrest.

The case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Macon County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office; the Rabun County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office; Highland, North Carolina Police Department; and the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Schoen of the Greenville office prosecuted the case.
 

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases.

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