SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C. — A criminal complaint filed on Christmas Eve is shedding new light on what preceded the shooting of a man who attempted to illegally enter Shaw Air Force Base a day earlier.
According to the affidavit of FBI Special Agent Kevin Conroy, the incident actually began when the suspect, later identified as retired veteran Angelo Jerome Brown, approached the main entrance in his vehicle.
According to Conroy's testimony, as a veteran, Brown had access to Shaw as long as he submitted to the rules and regulations that allow entrance. And while Brown did present a valid Department of Defense (DoD) identification, he also made a "rapid utterance in an aggressive tone."
"Brown mentioned sex slave trafficking and kid sex slaves and told the guard that he was 'laced,'" the affidavit stated, adding that Brown was then told to pull to a side lot.
The affidavit states that Brown also said, "I have a knife and BB gun in the car."
After this, Brown is accused of speeding away as the guard was waiting for a supervisor. Brown managed to also bypass a barricade before it could be activated.
At this point, the affidavit states multiple officers from the base responded and located Brown near a traffic circle between three-quarters to a full mile away from the gate.
At first, authorities said Brown pulled over when they turned on their lights and sirens. However, he then allegedly exited his vehicle yelling at the officers, and, at one point, threw his key fob away from him.
He then, according to the affidavit, got back in his vehicle and backed up, striking an officer with the door. The officer was sent falling backward but wasn't injured.
Brown attempted to leave the area but, since he had thrown his key fob out a short distance away, his vehicle stopped once it was out of range.
The affidavit claims officers then took cover as Brown got out of his vehicle again and walked to the back where he pulled out what they believed to be a firearm.
While he didn't initially point the rifle at officers, he is accused of disobeying their commands to put the gun down as he "continued making statements about sex trafficking and girls."
The affidavit said that officers did request a negotiator but Brown is alleged to have pointed the rifle at an officer a short time later. As a result, the officers fired on him, took him into custody, and then attempted to render aid.
Brown responded to the officers that he didn't want help, they needed to "get them girls from Columbia" and even threatened to take an officer's gun and shoot him, according to the statement. He, however, did not make an attempt to do so, it continued.
The Columbia FBI Evidence Response Team was called to the scene and recovered the black pellet gun "which did not fit the definition of a working firearm." They also recovered a knife with a six-and-a-half-inch blade and what they believe was crack cocaine, though it was not field tested.
Investigators later spoke with a family member of Brown who the affidavit states he had previously asked for her actual gun. However, she said she refused because she knew that, as a felon, he was prohibited from having one.
Brown is now facing charges related to failing to stop for blue lights and sirens - his second offense, assault on federal officers, entering a military property, and possession of a dangerous weapon in a federal facility.