Orangeburg Felon Sentenced to Maximum on Federal Gun Charge

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Eugene Jonathan James, age 21, of Orangeburg, South Carolina, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence presented to the court showed that at approximately 12:36 a.m. on May 27, 2017, officers with the Cayce Department of Public Safety were running radar on Knox Abbott Drive when they observed a car traveling 15-20 mph over the speed limit. After activating their blue lights and siren in an attempt to conduct a traffic stop, a chase ensued across the Blossom Street Bridge into Columbia. At one point, the driver of the car appeared to stop, but when officers approached, the car sped off again. Ultimately, the car stopped near the Riverwalk and the sole occupant/driver, later identified as James, fled on foot, disregarding officers’ commands for him to stop. James fled into the woodline off the Riverwalk and assumed a crouched position. He appeared to the officers to be lying in wait for them. After threatening to use his taser to get James to comply, one officer heard gunshots and felt pain. That officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was shot in the chest and leg, and the other officer was shot in his leg. Officers returned fire and called for backup assistance.

Responding officers located James in the woodline with a .40 caliber Smith and Wesson lying at his feet. James had also been shot. Further investigation revealed that the car driven by James had been stolen during a carjacking in Orangeburg on May 14, 2017. The serial number of the firearm had been burned in an attempt to obliterate it; however, law enforcement was able to restore the serial number and determined that the gun had been stolen during the theft of a Jeep in Orangeburg on May 15, 2017. A ballistics examination of the firearm matched it to the fired bullet recovered from one of the officers’ bulletproof vests and to a May 16, 2017, shooting incident in Orangeburg.

Federal law prohibits James from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon an April 2017 Orangeburg conviction for burglary 3rd degree for which he received a probationary sentence.  At the time of the instant offense, James was on state probation and out on state bond for unrelated Richland County state armed robbery and weapon charges stemming from a March 2017 incident.         

During the sentencing hearing, the court heard from one of the officers who was shot and from his wife.  His wife said, “As a law enforcement officer’s spouse, we know the risks our loved ones take when they strap on their body armor and kiss us on the way out of the door. We know that may be the last kiss. We pray for their safety and their safe return home. As a spouse, we dread phone calls in the middle of the night and knocks on the door – especially when our loved ones are working. My nightmare became reality, with one simple phone call.”

United States District Judge Michelle Childs sentenced James to the statutory maximum of 120 months in federal prison, to be followed by a 3-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), the Cayce Department of Public Safety, the Columbia Police Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

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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