U.S. Marshals to face no charges in fatal shooting of former Camden accountant

KERSHAW COUNTY, SC (WIS) - There will be no criminal charges filed against the U.S. Marshals that fatally shot a former Camden accountant six times.

Joseph Folsom, Jr., of 2217 Blue Heron Road, was to report to Edgefield Federal Correctional Institution to serve a 50-month sentence for stealing money from a tax client after the person died. When Folsom failed to report to the prison, an arrest warrant was issued.

On Dec. 5, Deputy United States Marshals checked with Folsom's daughter, who confirmed her father was at home, and the Marshals also called the home and said a male answered the phone, according to the narrative report released by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division. When the U.S. Marshals arrived at the home, no one came to the door despite knocking on the door, ringing a doorbell and stating they had a warrant for Folsom's arrest.

The U.S. Marshals, wearing tactical vests and raid gear marked "U.S. Marshals," entered the home through an unlocked sliding glass door in the basement and made their way to the main level of the home by another unlocked door. Once inside the home, there were no signs of Folsom in either of the two levels. One U.S. Marshal reported hearing footsteps coming from the next level, so the federal agents went to the upper level, the report said.

Behind a closed door on the upper level, the U.S. Marshals found Folsom lying in bed, claiming his neck was broken. He was asked to raise both of his hands, but the agents said he only showed one hand at a time. One U.S. Marshal pulled down the sheet that was covering Folsom and saw he had a black shotgun pointed at his chin, the report said.

The Marshals asked Folsom repeatedly to put the shotgun down, but instead, he started waving it around and pointed it at the agents. The weapon then got wrapped up in the sheets, and the agents reacted out of fear for their lives and shot Folsom six times, killing him.

In a final report released by Fifth Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson, the agents acted in accordance with the law.

"I further find that each Marshal's use of force was reasonably necessary in light of all circumstances gleaned from the investigation," Johnson wrote.

An autopsy report on Folsom showed that a bullet from one of the three U.S. Marshal's Bushmaster AR-15 struck Folsom once in the head. The other bullets found in his body could not be connected to a certain agent's weapon. He had gunshot wounds in his chest, two graze wounds to his neck and a perforating gunshot wound to his right arm.

The case is now closed.

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