‘Valentine Roney’ pleads guilty to committing gun crime in Five Points, prosecutor says
A Columbia man pleaded guilty to committing a gun crime in Five Points, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Monday.
Kevin Shacqile Roney, aka “Kevo,” or “Valentine Roney,” pleaded guilty in federal court to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, acting U.S. Attorney Rhett DeHart said in a news release. The 26-year-old Roney is also a gang member, according to the release.
At about 1:15 a.m. on Aug. 18, 2019, Columbia police officers in the Five Points area saw Roney stash something underneath bushes near a parking lot, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Officers discovered the item was a loaded 9mm handgun and set up surveillance before arresting Roney when he returned to retrieve the firearm an hour later, according to the release.
Roney admitted he put the gun under the bushes, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Based upon his prior felony convictions in South Carolina for unlawful carrying of a weapon, third-degree burglary, and second-degree assault and battery, Roney is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition, according to the release.
U.S. District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Roney after reviewing a sentencing report from the U.S. Probation Office.
Under federal law, the maximum sentence Lewis could give Roney is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Along with the Columbia Police Department, the incident was also investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Roney is also facing a pending state charge for unlawful removal of electronic monitoring device, according to Richland County Court records. He has failed to appear in court for multiple other charges, court records show.
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