WILMINGTON — A 24-year old Wilmington man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The charges come after the resident fired a shotgun near a school, leading to a high-speed car chase.
“This Crip gang member was a one-man crime spree, firing shorts towards a Wilmington charter school and leading police on a high-speed chase topping 118 mile per hour,” U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said in a Monday press release. “The new Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is built for cases just like this and got this felon 15 years in federal prison. We’re using the new law to prosecute violent gangs and shooters across North Carolina, especially those endangering our kids. Our law enforcement efforts help ensure kids can start the school year ready to hit the books, not dodge bullets.”
According to court documents, Jahmez Tavaughn Jackson fired multiple times at another individual mid-day February 22 at the intersection of 6th Street and Campbell Street. The shooting was only 200 feet away from Roger Bacon Douglas Academy, a K-5 charter school. No one was injured but children were present in the vicinity.
Officers identified Jackson in Pender County and pursued him at speeds as high as 118 mph before Jackson crashed the vehicle into a median. Police found oxycodone, marijuana, and photo evidence of Jackson’s involvement with the drug trade in his phone, as well as pictures of him posing with the vehicle used in the crime.
Jackson was wearing an ankle monitor at the time of arrest. His previous felonies include assault with a deadly weapon and attempted kidnapping.
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