FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA — James Edwards Phillips, 64, of McBee, was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that, on the afternoon of December 6, 2019, a Deputy with Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an argument at a residence in Hartsville. Upon arrival, the Deputy saw Mr. Phillips holding a firearm and advancing towards another individual. The Deputy detained Phillips and recovered a loaded .22 caliber revolver from Phillips’s person. At the time of the incident, Phillips was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to his prior federal and state felony convictions.
Chief United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell sentenced Phillips to 96 months imprisonment, to be followed by a 5-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was prosecuted 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.
This case was investigated by Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office, Hartsville Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Flynn prosecuted the case.
###