COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – On Wednesday, a federal grand jury indicted a Columbia man for violating the housing rights of his black neighbor and for using a gun in the commission of a crime of violence.

Jonathan Andrew Felkel, 34, in addition to violating Richland County’s hate intimidation ordinance, is also charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature as well as possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

According to court documents, on July 17, Felkel, while driving into the gated community where both he and victim Jarvis McKenzie lived, fired a gun and shouted, “You better keep running, boy!” while McKenzie was standing at the gate to the community.

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Authorities later said an investigation found the incident to be racially motivated, reportedly by Felkel’s own admission.

If convicted, Felkel faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison on the housing charge and an additional ten years in prison on the firearms charge.

The indictment announcement was made by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Bryan P. Stirling for the District of South Carolina, and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Moore of the FBI Columbia Field Office.

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