Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – A Lexington County attorney has been charged with multiple crimes after firing a gun in the air and then allegedly at someone early Sunday morning. This is according to statements made by several people in a report taken by deputies with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
Attorney James “Jim” O’Connor was placed under arrest after 4:30 a.m. Sunday according to the official report from the sheriff’s department. This was after deputies responded to the 600 block of Tayser Court in the Prescott Glenn neighborhood of Lexington County in reference to a shooting incident.
According to the report, a group of acquaintances and neighbors were playing poker and drinking at a home next to James O’Connor’s. At some point after 4:00 a.m., O’Connor decided to take the poker set they were using and walk out the backdoor of his neighbor’s home with the poker set and a wallet. The exit allowed O’Connor to access his yard and home. It was about this time that one of the men playing in the game realized that his wallet was missing.
In the report, the two men said that once they realized the wallet was missing, they went to O’Connor’s home to get the poker set and enquire about the missing wallet. O’Connor denied taking the wallet, so the two men took the poker set and walked outside. According to the men, O’Connor had the poker set on him.
O’Connor came out of the home chasing after the men and confronted them in the yard. He became angry and threatened the men saying he would go back into the house, get his gun and shoot them. O’Connor did run back inside, returned with a handgun, and fired a single round into the air, according to the men.
At this point, the pair fled into the residence of the man hosting the poker game. While they were in the home, one of them was visible through a window and he says he saw O’Connor pointing a gun right at him. The pair also said that O’Connor then fired a shot right at the man but apparently missed him. By this point, someone had dialed 911.
O’Connor fled back inside his home when deputies began arriving. He was eventually detained and then arrested. LCSD supervisors were notified and eventually, one of the law enforcement officers on the scene did collect a spent .40 caliber casing. The two men, listed as the victims on the report, provided written statements of what had occurred.
O’Connor was transported to the Lexington County Detention Center where he was booked on charges of 1st degree burglary, pointing and presenting a firearm, discharging a weapon into a dwelling, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. According to court records, he was supposedly released on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond Monday the 20th.
According to the website www.lawyers.findlaw.com, James “Jim” O’Connor has a practice located at 200 East Main Street in Lexington. His primary areas of the practice include divorce, child support, criminal law, custody & visitation, and family law. The photograph of Jim O’Connor on the website matches the booking photo of James O’Connor that was taken when he was booked into the detention center.
All accused are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Some cases may be complete dropped or the charges may be reduced.
