Nash was wearing a Hillary Clinton mask when he forced entry into victim’s home and fired a shot
Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that a jury returned a guilty verdict following a two-day jury trial in federal court in Anderson, South Carolina, finding Carlton Tyrone Nash, age 37, of Greenville, guilty of possession by a firearm and ammunition by a felon. The trial wrapped up yesterday afternoon and was held before United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain of Anderson. Judge Cain will impose a sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
The government presented multiple witnesses during the course of the trial. Witness testimony and the evidence presented by the government at trial established that in the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 22, 2016, the defendant, Carlton Tyrone Nash, while wearing a Hillary Clinton mask, forced entry into a residence and fired a shot from the.25 caliber pistol he obtained earlier that day. The shot barely missed one of the residents of the house. Nash then dragged that resident from the home at gunpoint into the street where a fight ensued. While Nash and his initial victim were fighting, the victim’s roommate exited the house with a baseball bat, striking Nash in the head with the bat. After a blow to the head from the bat, Nash removed his now bloodied mask revealing his identity to the victims. Nash dropped the gun during the scuffle in the street and left his mask behind as he fled the scene.
After receiving a 911 call from the initial victim, members of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office (GCSO) responded within minutes. A forensic technician from the Greenville County Forensic Division arrived shortly thereafter to process the scene and collect evidence. Experts from the Greenville County Forensics Division were able to match Nash’s DNA to the blood in the recovered mask. Based on their investigation, GCSO investigators were able to obtain an arrest warrant for Nash and arrested him just days after the offense.
Working in concert with GCSO through the multi-agency initiative “Operation Real Time", Special Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) served a federal arrest warrant on Nash shortly after his state arrest. Nash, after being advised of his Miranda rights, admitted to ATF agents that he had the mask and the gun. Nash has been detained since this incident and remains in custody.
Again, this case was expedited for federal investigation and prosecution through “Operation Real-Time." The goal of this program is to identify individuals for federal prosecution with significant criminal histories who continue to actively possess firearms in the upstate community. In addition to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, Real Time’s core partners include the Greenville Police Department, the Anderson Police Department, the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, the South Carolina Highway Patrol, United States Probation, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and the United States Attorney’s Office. Since August of 2015, the initiative has resulted in the expedited federal prosecution of some 90 defendants and seizure of over 125 firearms as well as assorted ammunition from prohibited persons.
Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis and his office are crucial partners in this effort. "The Greenville County Sheriff's Office is committed to removing illegal weapons from violent offenders and are very glad to be a part of this program and will offer any assistance we can."
“ATF is extremely appreciative of our partners and this collaborative effort to make our communities safer," said Charlotte Field Division’s Special Agent in Charge C.J. Hyman. “ATF has committed our resources to help tackle illegal firearms possession and violent crime. That commitment, combined with the cooperation of the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies, our federal partners, the 13th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, has resulted in a very successful effort with a long-term impact on violent crime in the upstate and beyond."
U.S. Attorney Beth Drake commended the partnership between the state and federal agencies that led to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Attorney’s Office adopting the case, “We work best when we work together. This ‘real time’ identification of high risk offenders is smart policing, and we welcome the opportunity to work alongside our state chiefs and sheriffs in taking violent repeat offenders out of our communities."
The case was investigated by the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville County Forensic Division, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins and First Assistant United States Attorney Lance Crick prosecuted the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
