Valdosta Repeat Offender Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Firearm Possession After Firing Shots Inside Store

ALBANY, Ga. - A Southwest Georgia man with a lengthy criminal history who was arrested after firing a round between customers standing inside a Valdosta, Georgia, convenience store was sentenced to serve more than 17 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm.

Eric Jerome Tooley, 46, of Hahira, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 212 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by Senior U.S. District Judge Louis Sands on April 23, after he previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon on Jan. 22. There is no parole in the federal system.

"Convicted felons with guns who threaten public safety will be prosecuted federally and held accountable under the law," said U.S. Attorney William R. "Will" Keyes. "We are working alongside law enforcement at every level to protect our communities and ensure armed repeat offenders are brought to justice."

"This defendant's actions showed a complete disregard for human life-firing inside a business and endangering innocent bystanders," said ATF Resident Agent in Charge Robert Davis. "ATF will continue to work alongside the Valdosta Police Department and our law enforcement partners to ensure repeat violent offenders are removed from our communities and held fully accountable in federal court."

"This case is a great example of the importance of collaboration between local, state and federal partners," said Valdosta Police Department Chief Leslie Manahan. "We thank the United States Attorney's Office for their diligence and leadership in prosecuting this violent offender and helping to protect our community."

According to court documents and statements referenced in court, a Valdosta Police Department officer on patrol heard gunshots coming from the nearby Mega Mart on North Lee Street in Valdosta on Feb. 19, 2025. As the officer drove into the parking lot, he spotted Tooley heading toward a local grocery store; another bystander reported that three shots were fired inside the store. The officer and responding police safely apprehended Tooley near East Jane Street. Authorities obtained the Mega Mart video surveillance capturing Tooley getting agitated with the cashier over a lighter, pointing his pistol at the store clerk, then turning the gun and firing it between two customers in the store. Tooley has prior felony convictions for drug distribution in the Superior Courts of Cobb County, Georgia, and Lowndes County, Georgia. It is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The Valdosta Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonja Profit prosecuted the case for the Government.