Columbus man receives 117-year sentence for repeat gun crimes

December 21, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BATFE Press Release

COLUMBUS, OH --- Oliver McComb, Jr., age 47, was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 1,410 months imprisonment for committing six armed robberies and brandishing a firearm in four crimes of violence. McComb's sentence exceeds 117 years because of his prior violent criminal record.

In December 2004, a United States District Court jury convicted McComb of committing the robberies between May 10, 2004, and June 16, 2004. He is accused of robbing four shoe stores, a motel, and a check-cashing facility. Evidence presented during the two-day trial showed that McComb committed the first of the robberies ten days after being released from prison where he served a 12-year sentence for armed bank robbery.

Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Christopher P. Sadowski, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Columbus Police Chief James G. Jackson announced the sentence handed down by Senior United States District Judge James L. Graham.

"Conviction on the gun charges added 100 years to McComb's sentence," Lockhart said. "Federal firearms laws are intended to harshly punish those who even brandish firearms in crimes of violence as this case shows."

McComb's case is the result of an intense effort by local, state and federal agencies to reduce violent crime in the city of Columbus. Under this Initiative, local, state and federal law enforcement and prosecutors form Violent Crime Impact Teams (VCIT) and work in collaboration to help identify and remove the most violent criminals from the community.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is leading the initiative for Federal law enforcement while Columbus Division of Police and the Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien are leading this initiative for local agencies in the area.

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Let it be heard far and wide - enforcing existing gun laws is what will deter gun crime, not a further stripping away of rights from law-abiding citizens.