Man Who Fired Shots on Columbia Street Sentenced to Federal Prison for Firearm Charge (DOJ)

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Brandon Chanell Joyner, 29, of Columbia, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm during a 2023 shooting on Greystone Boulevard in Columbia.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that on July 18, 2023, law enforcement responded to the corner of Greystone Boulevard and Stoneridge Drive regarding witnesses seeing a man shooting a gun into the air. Joyner saw a police car nearby and fired three shots, which hit the vehicle. Additional units responded and pursued Joyner. He then abruptly turned and fired several shots at the group of police cars. Joyner retreated to his hotel room where he reloaded his firearm and began shooting again. Law enforcement eventually returned fire and struck the defendant in the back. The defendant again retreated to his hotel room, changed clothes, and then exited the room. He made contact with police and told them he was an innocent bystander. Officers determined he was the shooter and immediately placed him under arrest. Law enforcement recovered a 9mm pistol from the parking lot of the hotel where Joyner was staying. Joyner's DNA was found on the gun. Testing showed the casings recovered at the scene matched casings from the firearm recovered from the hotel.

Joyner has previous felony convictions that prevent him from lawfully possessing a firearm.

United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr sentenced Joyner to 180 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

Joyner was sentenced to 25 years in state prison after pleading guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder. These sentences will run concurrently.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Columbia Police Department and the Richland County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Elizabeth Major prosecuted the case.

###