News Release from our law enforcement partner the United States Attorney’s Office – District of South Carolina
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA —Tavares Cromer, 29, of Columbia, was sentenced to 56 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that on May 10, 2022, the City of Columbia Police Department (CPD) responded to a shooting on Bailey St. and found multiple fired shell casings.
CPD investigators recovered surveillance video from Bailey St. that showed Cromer and an accomplice discharging a firearm at unknown individuals before fleeing the scene. CPD officers compared Cromer’s position in the video to the location of the recovered shell casings and determined that Cromer left behind .40 caliber shell casings.
On May 13, 2022, officers with the CPD Crime Gun Intelligence Unit executed a search warrant at Cromer’s residence. Cromer was present at the residence and was wearing the same shirt he had on in the surveillance video of the shooting. At the residence, officers recovered two firearms and multiple calibers of ammunition in his bedroom. The .40 caliber ammunition found in his bedroom was the same brand as the ammunition Cromer left at the shooting scene.
During this incident, Cromer was on court-ordered supervision for a prior federal conviction for Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Additionally, Cromer had prior state convictions for Strong Arm Robbery, Burglary 2nd Degree, and Assault and Battery 1st Degree. All of those federal and state convictions prohibited Cromer from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. sentenced Cromer to 56 months in prison, to be followed by a three-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 the City of Columbia Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case.
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CONTACT PERSON: Brook Andrews, First Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, [email protected], 803-929-3000.