Davon Jermaine Mickle, a 40-year-old resident of Kershaw, South Carolina, has pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The plea follows an incident that occurred on August 19, 2023, when Camden Police responded to reports of a shooting near a nightclub.
According to the investigation, three individuals stated they were at the nightclub when Mickle began harassing one of them. Witnesses reported seeing Mickle walking in the parking lot with an AR-style rifle and placing it inside a car. After an argument, as the victims left together, they saw Mickle retrieve the rifle from his car and fire at their vehicle nearly two dozen times. Law enforcement recovered 23 cartridge casings from the scene and found one bullet hole in the victims’ car bumper.
The victims identified Mickle as the shooter. Investigators discovered he had an outstanding arrest warrant. Deputies from the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office later found Mickle sitting in his vehicle at his residence with an AR-style rifle on the passenger seat. Officers detained him and secured the weapon. Surveillance footage showed that the shooter wore shoes, blue jean shorts, and black boxers matching what Mickle was wearing at the time of his arrest. While police determined that this gun was not used in the shooting itself, gun residue tests confirmed that Mickle had recently fired a firearm.
Mickle is barred from possessing firearms due to prior convictions for drug-related offenses including possession with intent to distribute cocaine and multiple counts involving crack cocaine distribution near schools.
He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and could receive up to life imprisonment. Additional penalties include a fine up to $250,000, restitution payments, and five years of supervised release following any prison term. United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. accepted Mickle’s guilty plea; sentencing will occur after review of a report prepared by U.S. Probation Office.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which coordinates law enforcement agencies and community groups to reduce violent crime and gun violence through focused strategies such as building trust within communities and supporting organizations aimed at preventing violence before it starts.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives collaborated with local authorities during this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is handling prosecution duties.
