Department of Justice

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Jamarcus Dontaye Patterson, age 36, of Lancaster, South Carolina, was sentenced to 115 months (9.5 years) in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Following the term of imprisonment, Patterson will be on federal supervised release for 3 years. Senior United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten, of Columbia, imposed the sentence.

 

Evidence presented in court established that on July 13, 2018, deputies with the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Plyler and Duke Streets after receiving a call that Jamarcus Patterson had pointed a firearm at someone. Deputies observed Patterson, who had outstanding state warrants at the time, walking down Plyler Street. When deputies approached, Patterson fled on foot. He was apprehended shortly thereafter, and deputies recovered a loaded Hi-Point .40 caliber pistol. At the time of the July offense, Patterson was on state bond for a December 24, 2017, weapon charge stemming from an incident at a residence in Lancaster wherein he was found in possession of a Beretta 9mm handgun, which had been stolen from the Lancaster National Guard Armory in November 2017. Patterson was arrested on new state charges, and a federal arrest warrant and complaint was issued charging Patterson with both weapon offenses.

 

Patterson entered a guilty plea to the July 2018 weapon charge. Following a contested sentencing hearing, the court increased Patterson’s sentence in light of evidence produced by the Government that Patterson had pointed and presented the stolen Beretta 9mm handgun during the December 24, 2017, dispute with a female at a residence in Lancaster. 

 

Federal law prohibits Patterson from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon his prior state convictions:  2002 conviction for assault and battery with intent to kill, wherein he shot someone in the leg;  2013 conviction for burglary 2nd degree, where he and a co-defendant allegedly were armed during a burglary in which a two-month-old child was held at gunpoint; 2013 conviction for attempted strong arm robbery; and 2013 conviction for accessory before the fact to a felony.

 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and 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 Attorneys Stacey D. Haynes, Chris Taylor, and Elliott Daniels of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.