Columbia man pleads guilty to firearm charge

A Columbia man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to illegally having a gun during a street shootout in a residential neighborhood.

Richard S. Jones, 25, pleaded guilty to being a drug user in possession of a firearm. Columbia police officers were sent the night of June 24 to the 4600 block Rice Road on a shots-fired call and found several 9 mm and .223-caliber spent shells, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release. Several residents told police their homes and vehicles had been hit by gunfire.

Police found Jones in a vehicle that matched a description given by witnesses, the release said. Officers found a bag of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the car and Jones admitted to police that he had fired several shots from a rifle into the air in front of a residence on Rice Road before hiding the gun in another residence, according to the release.

Jones faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be set after a presentence investigation.

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