Officials say inmate ordered ‘hits’ from prison, call for cell phones to be jammed
COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott and S.C. Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling shared information about the illegal actions of a state prisoner.
Officials said 27-year-old Harvester Jackson has been charged with accessory to attempted murder, accessory to discharging a firearm into a dwelling, and accessory to arson.
Jackson, an inmate at Kirkland Correctional Institution serving a 10-year sentence for armed robbery and burglary, ordered shootings while imprisoned using a cell phone.
“Eight different times since he’s been incarcerated, he’s been caught with cell phones,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said, “and he used a cell phone to commit the crimes that we have him charged with now.”
“I’ve testified in front of the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement this year and asked the federal government, once again, to stop this blight on society,” SCDC Director Bryan Stirling said. “If folks go to prison, you think they should be rehabilitated, which they should. They should also stop committing crimes. With technology and cell phones, that’s not possible anymore.”
Investigators began looking into Jackson on April 28 when a woman told authorities that someone fired shots into her home on Percival Road just after 1 a.m. The woman said this wasn’t the first time this had happened and told investigators that Jackson was behind the shootings. She said she used to date Jackson and he threatened to shoot up her home if she didn’t give him information on another potential victim. When she refused to cooperate with Jackson, he warned her that she would be the target instead. The woman also accused Jackson of destroying her vehicle, which was found on fire with several bullet holes in June 2019.
Officials said Jackson was tied to two other shootings. The first shooting took place on Swandale Drive on Aug. 12, 2018. During that time, victims told law enforcement that two of their vehicles were shot at while parked at their home. One of the victims also dated Jackson previously.
The second shooting happened on Aug. 27, 2019, on Humphrey Drive. During that shooting, someone fired shots at a home on that road. Investigators uncovered evidence that Jackson made threats to do so.
During the investigation, authorities found several phone numbers associated with Jackson. Officials said he also used Facebook Messenger routinely to communicate.
“These crimes can be stopped,” Lott said. “These inmates can be stopped from committing crimes from behind walls if the federal government and the FCC would just do what they’re supposed to be doing and that’s allowing the Department of Corrections to jam these phones. The technology is there. We just need the approval to do it.”
RCSD and SCDC are looking into other shootings that Jackson has been tied to. Officials are expecting to make more arrests in these cases.
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