Augusta men sentenced for shootout that caught delivery driver in crossfire
Two Richmond County men were sentenced to federal prison on Wednesday for a December 2021 shootout that narrowly missed a U.S. Postal Service driver.
Corii Arkeem Bussey, 32, and Darnell Dwight Brown, 30, both of Augusta, were sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to felony charges following the gunfight outside an Augusta convenience store, according to Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
U.S. District Court Judge Dudley H. Bowen sentenced Bussey to 48 months in prison for assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal employee, and sentenced Brown to 48 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a user of illegal drugs, according to a news release.
Bowen also fined Bussey and Brown $1,500 and ordered them to serve three years of supervised release after completion of their prison terms, according to the release. There is no parole in the federal system.
“It’s exceptionally fortunate that no one was wounded by this inexcusably reckless exchange of gunfire in broad daylight,” said Steinberg. “The community will be safer with these gun-carrying criminals off the streets.”
Tax fraud:Augusta man convicted of filing $100 million false tax return
EMS update:Augusta is soon to get a new ambulance provider. How we got here
The 2021 shooting
Bussey and Brown met while shopping at an Augusta discount store on Dec. 9, 2021 and had a “nonverbal disagreement” that ended with Bussey brandishing a gun, according to the release.
A short time later, the two again parked at an Augusta convenience store on either side of a U.S. Postal Service delivery truck, according to the release. Both men pulled out semiautomatic pistols and began firing, with bullets striking the postal service vehicle as the postal employee took shelter on the floorboard for safety.
Bullets also struck Brown’s car and a nearby tire store, but missed both shooters, the postal carrier and other customers at the convenience store, according to the release. Investigators later recovered 18 shell casings at the site.
Both men left the scene, but Richmond County Sheriff’s Office investigators later arrested Brown at a relative's home, according to the release. Bussey surrendered to U.S. Marshals in August 2022.
“We are grateful for the collaborative investigative work performed by our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Tommy D. Coke, inspector in charge of the Atlanta Division. “One of the top priorities of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is to protect postal employees while they are in the performance of their federal duties. The reckless behavior and poor judgment exercised by these two individuals have resulted in their sentence to serve time behind bars and they will be unable to endanger or harm any other people.”
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Augusta men sentenced to prison for shootout in December 2021
