Donald Ray Hurst, Jr., a 35-year-old resident of Sumter, South Carolina, has been sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of destruction of an energy facility and possession of child sexual abuse material.
The incident began on August 11, 2023, when Duke Energy reported a power outage near Fish Road in Dalzell. Law enforcement officers from the FBI and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office responded and discovered that a regulator bank had sustained multiple bullet holes. The resulting damage caused thousands of customers to lose power, with cleanup and replacement costs exceeding $100,000. Investigators later identified Hurst as the shooter.
While in jail, Hurst was recorded telling someone about a hard drive in his room that could “get someone in trouble.” In another call, he admitted to shooting the regulator bank and said the hard drive contained images of child sexual abuse material obtained from the dark web. Agents retrieved the device from his home. A search warrant led to the discovery of several images confirmed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as child sexual abuse material.
Investigative leads were generated using the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which allows law enforcement agencies nationwide to compare ballistic evidence and link firearms used at different crime scenes. NIBIN is designed to help disrupt cycles of gun violence by quickly connecting related incidents. More information about NIBIN can be found at https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
This case falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program focused on reducing violent crime through cooperation between law enforcement agencies and communities. The Department of Justice launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy for PSN on May 26, 2021, emphasizing community trust, support for prevention organizations, targeted enforcement priorities, and results measurement.
Additionally, this prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood—a national initiative started by the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2006—to address child sexual exploitation by coordinating federal, state, and local resources for investigating and prosecuting offenders while identifying victims. Further details are available at http://www.justice.gov/psc.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Hurst to 125 months in prison followed by lifetime court-ordered supervision and ordered him to pay $138,000 in restitution. Federal sentences do not allow parole.
The investigation involved multiple agencies: FBI Columbia Field Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and Sumter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lamar J. Fyall and Michael Shedd prosecuted the case.
