Former Lexington officer charged in illegal purchase of gun silencers

TOWN OF LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - A former Town of Lexington police officer has been charged after using his title as a policeman to buy firearm suppressors for his personal use.

Agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division were called by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department to investigate 30-year-old James Edward Chambers Jr.

Agents charged Chambers after an investigation determined he bought gun silencers for personal use while acting as an officer of the law.

Agents conducted an investigation from March 18, 2021, through September 10, 2021, where Chambers Jr. bought seven gun silencers for personal use from businesses federally licensed to sell firearms.

Chambers said that he was acting on behalf of law enforcement.

Agents also said because Chambers was acting on behalf of law enforcement, he was able to buy the silencers without paying the required federal tax stamp for each suppressor or having to comply with other federal regulations that a person has to do in order to purchase and have gun silencers.

Chambers is being charged with two counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses and official misconduct. He is being booked at the Lexington County Detention Center.

The Lexington Police Department released a statement Thursday night where they explained his employment in the department and what led them to request SLED to investigate the allegations.

The department said the following:

“James Chambers was a member of the Lexington Police Department from May 2019 until early January 2022. He was terminated from the department for misconduct due to lying during an internal investigation over department-issued equipment.

On January 5, 2022, notification was made to the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy that James Chambers had separated from the department due to misconduct.

After the termination of James Chambers, the Lexington Police Department was made aware that he had made several purchases of firearms equipment under the guise of department use while employed by our agency. Chief Terrence Green requested an outside agency to investigate the allegations, and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) took over the investigation.”

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