U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Columbia, SC 29210-3857

June 14, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

Brian D. Lamkin, Special Agent in Charge of the Columbia Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Chief Robert M. Stewart, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED); Chief H. Dean Crisp, Columbia Police Department and Sheriff Leon Lott, Richland County Sheriff's Department, announced today the arrest of Jerome Larnell Francis, a 22-year-old resident of Columbia, South Carolina. Francis was arrested without incident by members of the Columbia Violent Gang Task Force and subsequently charged in a federal complaint with, among other charges, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A federal complaint alleges that Francis possessed a firearm that had been stolen from Lawman's Safety Supply on Broad River Road during a burglary on December 16, 2006. The firearm was one of twelve guns stolen during the burglary. Agents from the Columbia Violent Gang Task Force found the firearm after a search of Francis' vehicle. The Columbia Violent Gang Task Force includes Agents from SLED, Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff's Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the FBI.

Francis appeared today before a U.S. Magistrate at Columbia and is being held pending a detention hearing. Prosecution of this matter is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes.

A complaint is merely an accusation that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.