Man who shot 2 officers pleads guilty to weapon charge

CAYCE, S.C. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say a man who shot and wounded two police officers in South Carolina has pleaded guilty to a weapons charge.

U.S. Attorney Sherri Lydon said 20-year-old Eugene James was a felon and prohibited from having a gun when he sped away from a traffic stop and fired at two Cayce police officers.

Authorities say both officers survived. Both had leg wounds. One also was hit in a bulletproof vest.

Lydon says James was in a stolen car and the serial number of the gun had been burned, but investigators restored it and found the weapon was stolen.

Lydon said in a statement that James faces up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.

James was also wounded in the shootout.