ROCK HILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – According to the United States Department of Justice, 35-year-old Donnell S. Durham has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after admitting guilt to possession of a firearm and ammunition as a felon.
Officials say that on July 27, 2021, officers from the Rock Hill Police Department pulled over a vehicle displaying a suspended license plate. Durham was a passenger in the vehicle, and officers detected the scent of marijuana.
They say they instructed Durham and the other occupants to exit the vehicle. During this encounter, officers discovered that Durham had an outstanding arrest warrant.
When attempting to apprehend Durham, they say he resisted arrest, resulting in a physical altercation with the officers who subsequently discovered a loaded firearm concealed in his waistband. Following their retrieval of the weapon, Durham was taken into custody.
Additionally, they say a search uncovered multiple drugs in Durham’s possession, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine.
Durham’s previous state felony convictions rendered him ineligible to possess a firearm and ammunition.
Officials say notably, in 2012, Durham was convicted of attempted murder and aggravated assault and battery after striking a Rock Hill Police Department officer with a car and narrowly missing another while attempting to evade arrest.
In 2014, he was convicted of aggravated assault and battery for shooting another individual. In 2016, Durham was convicted of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon gave a 180-month prison sentence on Durham, with an additional three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no possibility of parole within the federal justice system.
