Brandon Chanell Joyner, a 29-year-old resident of Columbia, South Carolina, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The sentencing follows an incident that occurred on July 18, 2023, on Greystone Boulevard in Columbia.
According to evidence presented during the investigation, law enforcement responded to reports of a man firing a gun into the air at the intersection of Greystone Boulevard and Stoneridge Drive. Upon noticing police presence, Joyner fired three shots at a police vehicle. Additional officers arrived and pursued him. During the pursuit, Joyner turned and fired several more shots at the group of police cars before retreating to his hotel room.
Joyner reloaded his firearm in his hotel room and continued shooting. Law enforcement returned fire, striking him in the back. He then changed clothes and exited his room, claiming to be an innocent bystander when confronted by officers. Police determined he was the shooter and arrested him at the scene. A 9mm pistol was recovered from the hotel parking lot with Joyner’s DNA on it. Ballistics testing confirmed that shell casings found at the scene matched those from the recovered firearm.
Joyner has prior felony convictions that prohibit him from possessing firearms legally.
United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr sentenced Joyner to 180 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole available in the federal system.
In addition to his federal sentence, Joyner received a concurrent state sentence of 25 years after pleading guilty to ten counts of attempted murder.
The case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence through cooperation between law enforcement agencies and communities. The Department of Justice strengthened this initiative with a new strategy announced on May 26, 2021, focusing on building community trust, supporting violence prevention organizations, prioritizing strategic enforcement efforts, and measuring outcomes.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; South Carolina Law Enforcement Division; Columbia Police Department; and Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Elizabeth Major prosecuted it.
