Jackie Jermaine Watson, a 30-year-old Columbia resident, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. This sentence will run consecutively to the state prison sentence he is currently serving for violating his probation.
The investigation began on April 22, 2024, when officers from the Columbia Police Department responded to a report of a stolen moped at a motel on North Main Street. Officers located the moped and were confronted by Watson as they inspected it. Watson admitted to purchasing the moped from a drug user. After obtaining a search warrant for Watson’s motel room, police discovered a .40 caliber pistol, 62 grams of crack cocaine, 473 grams of marijuana, along with Watson’s driver’s license and court paperwork. They also found the key to the moped that Watson had denied possessing.
Watson has prior convictions for assault and battery first degree, possession of a stolen pistol, and burglary. At the time of this incident, he was on state probation related to his conviction for possession of a stolen pistol. He was also previously involved in Project Ceasefire—a City of Columbia initiative that engages certain probationers with social service organizations intended to reduce recidivism and provides warnings about expedited prosecution for future offenses.
“United States District Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Frazier to 60 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. That 60-month sentence will begin after Watson completes the state sentence he is currently serving. There is no parole in the federal system.”
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which aims to reduce violent crime and gun violence through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The U.S. Department of Justice launched an enhanced violent crime reduction strategy under PSN on May 26, 2021, focusing on trust-building with communities, supporting violence prevention organizations, prioritizing strategic enforcement efforts, and evaluating outcomes (https://www.justice.gov/psn).
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Columbia Police Department investigated this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Sanford prosecuted it.
