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Press Release

Rock Hill Gang Member Sentenced to Federal Prison

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated that Kenterius Dyshae Hinton, age 24, of Rock Hill, was sentenced to 36 months (3 years) imprisonment, which will be followed by 3 years of supervised release. This past September, Hinton plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Evidence presented in court established that on November 29, 2017, at approximately 11:21p.m., officers with the Rock Hill Police Department were on patrol in an unmarked patrol car when they observed a car, using their high beam front headlights, coming towards them. A traffic stop was conducted and Hinton found to be the driver. Officers smelled marijuana as they approached the car and when they asked Hinton, a known gang member, and the passenger about it, they stated that they had smoked marijuana earlier and that the odor was on their clothes. A search of car revealed a loaded Taurus .45 caliber handgun underneath the center console, a loaded Smith and Wesson .45 caliber handgun underneath the passenger seat, and a marijuana grinder with marijuana residue. Both Hinton and the passenger were arrested on state charges of unlawful carrying of a firearm and advised of their rights. After waiving their rights, Hinton admitted that the “black gun was mine” [the Taurus .45 caliber] and the passenger admitted that the silver gun [the Smith and Wesson .45 caliber] was his gun.

Hinton, who was on state probation at the time of the instant offense, is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon prior state convictions for burglary 2nd degree, where he entered a dwelling armed with a firearm, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and attempted armed robbery.  The passenger was not a convicted felon, so his firearm charge remained in state court.

Chief United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten of Columbia accepted the guilty plea and imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorneys Stacey D. Haynes and Alyssa Richardson both of the Columbia office handled the case.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Rock Hill Police Department. This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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.

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Contact

Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Updated December 17, 2018

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods