Contact Person: Stacey Haynes (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Robert Da’Quan Johnson, age 21, of Rock Hill, South Carolina was sentenced today after pleading guilty last year to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis of Columbia sentenced Johnson to the high end of the advisory guidelines, which was 27 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release.
Evidence presented in court established that on the evening of September 7, 2015, an officer with the Rock Hill Police Department was on routine patrol when he observed two vehicles traveling down Mount Holly Road at a high rate of speed. The officer’s radar clocked the vehicles traveling 70 mph in a 50 mph zone. Upon activating his blue light and siren and stopping both vehicles, the officer found Johnson to be the driver and sole occupant of one vehicle and a female friend of Johnson’s was found to be the driver and sole occupant of the other vehicle. After asking Johnson to exit his vehicle, a Rohm .22 caliber firearm was found in Johnson’s pants pocket and a baggy of .22 caliber ammunition found in Johnson’s vehicle. Johnson, a local gang member, was placed under arrest for state charges for carrying an unlawful weapon and speeding. The case was referred to federal authorities for prosecution as Johnson, who was on state Youthful Offender Act parole at the time, is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and/or ammunition based upon his 2014 state felony conviction for criminal conspiracy to shoot into an occupied dwelling.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Rock Hill Police Department, and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.
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