Macon man sentenced to prison for waving gun at Walmart customers

MACON — A Macon resident with a lengthy criminal history who carried a gun into a Macon Walmart and waved it aggressively at customers was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison.

Selma Oliver-Smith, 45, of Macon, was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by U.S. District Judge Tilman E. “Tripp” Self III. Oliver-Smith was convicted on April 11 of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon following a two-day trial.

“We are thankful that no shots were fired and no one was hurt when Selma Oliver-Smith — a convicted felon — brandished a firearm inside a Macon store, terrifying customers and employees,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said in a news release. “The penalty is steep for convicted felons who illegally carry guns.”

“When offenders such as this use firearms to threaten individuals, ATF takes this very seriously,” ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka said. “ATF remains on the frontline of preventing violent crime along with our law enforcement partners and will continue to pursue those who violate the law.”

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Bibb County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a call from the Walmart on Harrison Road in Macon on Aug. 17, 2021, about a man aggressively waving a gun at people who approached him inside the store. Because of Oliver-Smith’s criminal record, he was known to officers, and he was located thereafter at a nearby motel. Oliver-Smith was found inside his hotel room, where officers found two firearms hidden inside the toilet bowl tank. One of the firearms, a Jennings Firearms Bryco .380, looked identical to the one in the photo provided by Walmart.

Oliver-Smith has a lengthy criminal history that includes convictions for burglary, theft by taking and second-degree criminal damage. It is illegal for a convicted felon to possess a firearm.

This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. The case was investigated by the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean S. Deitrick and Sonja Profit prosecuted the case for the government.

Special Illustration: Metro Creative