Spartanburg Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Unlawful Gun Possession

Greenville, South Carolina---- Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that Jerrod Dupree Lyman, Jr., 30, of Spartanburg, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Evidence presented in court established that on August 8, 2019, members of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office were looking for Lyman on outstanding warrants.  Deputies observed Lyman come out of a residence in Inman and flee into the woods.  During the chase, deputies observed Lyman carrying a backpack and gave him several commands.  Lyman dropped the backpack but continued to flee.  Lyman was eventually taken into custody.  The recovered backpack contained two loaded 9mm pistols.  Lyman was also in possession of a quantity of methamphetamine.  Due to prior convictions for domestic violence and multiple drug offenses, Lyman is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.  Based on his prior record, the Court sentenced Lyman as an Armed Career Criminal.

United States District Court Judge Timothy M. Cain imposed a sentence of 180 months in federal prison to be followed by 60 months of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen prosecuted the case. 

This case 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.

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