Hartsville Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Federal Prison on Gun Charge

Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Kyre Christen Brown, 25, of Hartsville, was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Evidence presented to the court showed that on September 8, 2018, an officer with the Hartsville Police Department was on patrol when he saw Brown walking northbound on the sidewalk.  The officer confirmed that there was an outstanding warrant for Brown, then pulled into a nearby driveway, opened his door, and attempted to make contact with Brown.  As soon as the officer opened his door, Brown ran, and the officer pursued Brown on foot.  Brown ran through a backyard, jumped a fence into the backyard of another house, and stopped for a moment near a bush, where he appeared to be hiding something.  When Brown saw the officer coming, he took off again but eventually stopped in another back yard, where the officer apprehended him.  Officers searched the area near the bush where Brown had briefly stopped and found a loaded revolver. 

Federal law prohibits Brown from possessing firearms and ammunition because he has prior convictions for strong arm robbery, assault and battery first degree, and second degree burglary.   

United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins sentenced Brown to 48 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Hartsville Police Department.  It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local 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 Lauren Hummel of the Florence office prosecuted the case. 

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