SC man threatened a rival gang member with a gun on camera. Now he’s been sentenced to prison

A 27-year-old Columbia man will spend the next 4 years in prison after threatening a rival gang member with a gun during a social media live stream, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says.

Paul Burton posted a video on social media around 12:30 a.m.Feb. 15, 2022, from a Columbia gas station where he “bragged about successfully robbing a rival gang member of a gold chain,” according to a statement from the District of South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Then, still on camera, Burton walked into the gas station and threatened the rival gang member he’d just stolen the chain from by flashing a pistol and spitting toward the man. The gas station clerk witnessed the event, according to the statement.

Later in the day, police stopped Burton’s vehicle for a traffic stop. Police say the vehicle smelled like marijuana so officers searched the vehicle and found a loaded pistol.

The next day, Burton admitted it was the same gun shown in his video from the previous morning.

Burton was not legally allowed to possess the gun because he had previously been convicted of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, according to the statement.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Burton to 51 months in prison and a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.

The City of Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall is prosecuting the case, the statement also notes.

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