Donald Ray Hurst, Jr., a 35-year-old resident of Sumter, South Carolina, has been sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison after being convicted of destroying an energy facility and possessing child sexual abuse material.
On August 11, 2023, Duke Energy reported a power outage near Fish Road in Dalzell. Law enforcement officers from the FBI and the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office responded and discovered that a regulator bank, which is used to distribute electricity to local homes and businesses, had sustained damage from gunfire. The incident caused thousands of customers to lose power. Authorities estimated the cost for repairs and replacement at more than $100,000.
Investigators identified Hurst as the shooter and arrested him. While he was in jail, Hurst was recorded on a phone call telling someone about a hard drive in his room that could “get someone in trouble.” In another call, he admitted shooting the regulator bank and acknowledged that the hard drive at his home contained images of child sexual abuse material obtained from the dark web.
Law enforcement agents recovered the hard drive from Hurst’s residence. A search warrant revealed several images confirmed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as child sexual abuse material.
The investigation utilized information from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), which helps law enforcement compare ballistic evidence across crime scenes to solve firearm-related crimes. More details about NIBIN can be found at https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a national program aimed at reducing violent crime by coordinating efforts among various law enforcement agencies and community organizations. The Department of Justice enhanced its violent crime reduction strategy under PSN on May 26, 2021.
Additionally, this case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2006 to address child sexual exploitation through coordinated federal, state, and local resources. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at http://www.justice.gov/psc.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Hurst to 125 months in prison with lifetime supervised release and ordered him to pay $138,000 in restitution. Federal sentences do not allow for parole.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the FBI Columbia Field Office, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and Sumter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lamar J. Fyall and Michael Shedd prosecuted the case.
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