COLUMBIA, S.C. — A Fort Jackson drill sergeant has been found guilty of assaulting a man in a case that was caught on video and went viral around the nation.
Magistrate Court Judge Diedra Hightower found Jonathan Pentland guilty of assault and battery in the third degree Monday night at the conclusion of a two-day long trial. She sentenced him to either of two options: 30 days in jail or a $1,087.50 fine.
His attorney said afterward he would explore options to contest the decision.
This all stemmed from an incident that happened in the Summit neighborhood in northeast Richland County back on April 12, 2021. A portion of the video was captured on a cell phone and then shared across the community and the country on social media. It even led to protests in the neighborhood as some in the community called for justice in the case.
The cell phone video showed a man, identified by law enforcement as Pentland, having a confrontation with a young man walking in the neighborhood in Columbia near Pentland's home. Officers said Pentland could be heard yelling "walk away," "I'm about to do something to you," and "you're in the wrong neighborhood," to the victim.
During the two day trial, the judge in the case heard from Pentland, the victim, Pentland's wife, and other neighbors and witnesses. The video and others from that day were played multiple times in court.
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The victim told the judge Monday Pentland had been been following him and yelling at him after the victim and a female neighbor had an exchange of words. He said at the time, he was trying to walk home, which is elsewhere in the neighborhood, and never threatened or attacked Pentland.
One of the witnesses who took the video and a friend of Williams backed the victim's story.
But the defense countered by saying the victim was being aggressive to the female neighbor, and that he'd been told by Pentland multiple times to leave. They also said the victim had recorded a video of Pentland's home, which he took as a threat.
On the stand, Pentland said he was just trying to protect his female neighbor and his wife. He said he never wanted to hurt anyone and when the video showed him swearing at the victim it was just empty threats.
But during cross-examination, the prosecution played Pentland threatening the man, and said he did nothing to de-escalate the situation.
Pentland had been suspended by Fort Jackson pending the result of this trial.