Columbia, South Carolina — Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart announced today that brothers Abrian Dayquan Sabb, 26, of Orangeburg, and Darius Bernard Sabb, 23, of Georgetown, were sentenced today in federal court after pleading guilty to offenses related to making false statements to a federal firearms dealer during the purchase of a firearm. Abrian Sabb was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, and Darius Sabb was sentenced to three years probation.
Evidence presented to the court showed that on the morning of April 10, 2019, Abrian Sabb, while armed with a loaded AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with a high-capacity magazine, entered the emergency room of The Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg and began shooting in the hallway. A nurse was struck by a bullet to the chest, causing serious bodily injuries. Law enforcement responded and arrested Abrian Sabb at the scene, charging him with various state charges. Upon learning of the incident, Darius Sabb went to local law enforcement and advised that he had purchased the firearm for his brother.
The investigation revealed that the day before, April 9, 2019, Abrian Sabb had been involved in a domestic argument at his residence, which resulted in law enforcement responding and confiscating his handgun. Later that day, Abrian Sabb asked his brother, Darius Sabb, to go with him to a local firearms dealer to purchase him another firearm. Abrian Sabb provided his brother money and requested that he buy an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle with a 100-round magazine and two boxes of ammunition for him. Darius Sabb falsely filled out the ATF 4473 form attesting that he was the actual purchaser of the firearm and bought it.
Immediately upon leaving the firearms dealer’s store, Darius Sabb turned the items over to Abrian Sabb. Later that day, Abrian Sabb’s girlfriend called Darius Sabb and complained about him purchasing the firearm for Abrian Sabb as she indicated she was fearful. Darius Sabb then retrieved the rifle and hid it at another person’s home. However, the next morning, Abrian Sabb found out where the firearm was located, kicked in the front door of the residence, and retrieved the firearm. Later that morning, he and his girlfriend traveled to the medical center to seek help for his mental illness. At some point, he left the medical center, went to his vehicle, returned with the firearm, and began shooting.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Abrian Sabb to 84 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. She sentenced Darius Sabb to three years’ probation with 180 days of home detention and GPS location monitoring. State court charges related to the shooting remain pending in Orangeburg County against Abrian Sabb, and he is innocent of those charges unless proven guilty.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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 prosecuted the case.
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