Navy veteran accused of ramming vehicle into barrier at front gate of FBI Atlanta office

ATLANTA (AP) — Federal authorities have charged a U.S. Navy veteran who's accused of ramming an SUV into a barrier at the front gate of the FBI's Atlanta office.

Ervin Lee Bolling faces a federal charge of destroying government property stemming from the crash that happened shortly after noon on Monday, according to a court filing. A DeKalb County police spokesperson said Tuesday that officers have also secured warrants on state charges of interference with government property.

No attorney who could comment on the charges was listed in online court records.

Bolling enlisted in the Navy in January 1998 and served as a submarine sonar technician before retiring in 2017, according to Navy records. The records list South Carolina as his home of record.

The Atlanta FBI office in suburban Chamblee is surrounded by a metal fence with a retractable gate that employee enter by scanning an access card. Just inside the gate, there's a barrier that flattens to allow authorized cars to enter and then lifts back up again.

Bolling was driving at 2022 Buick Encore GX SUV with a South Carolina license plate and crashed it into the barrier inside the gate, according to a sworn statement from an FBI agent filed in court.

Video from the scene and a photo filed in court show a reddish-orange SUV with its hood crumpled against the barrier just inside the front gate.

After crashing the SUV, Bolling exited the vehicle and tried to follow an FBI employee into the secure parking lot on foot, the statement says. The agent he tried to follow and two other agents who were leaving at the time instructed him to sit on the curb, but he refused and tried to walk further into the parking lot and then resisted when the agents tried to take him into custody, the statement says.

Once Bolling was in custody, the agents found a passport in his pocket that allowed them to identify him. He was taken to an Atlanta hospital for evaluation.

Pete Ellis, assistant special agent in charge of the agency’s Atlanta office, told reporters on Monday agents and bomb technicians checked the vehicle “as a precaution.” An FBI spokesperson said no weapons were found in the SUV.

The agent's statement says there is significant damage to the barrier that the SUV hit and that a contractor estimated it would cost more than $1,000 to repair.

In an image taken from aerial video from WSB-TV, shows a red vehicle stopped by a barrier at the front gate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Atlanta division, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Chamblee, Ga. The FBI says a driver rammed a vehicle into the front gate of its Atlanta office, but his motives were not immediately known. (WSB via AP)

Police release name of man accused of ramming vehicle into front gate of FBI Atlanta office

Police release name of man accused of ramming vehicle into front gate of FBI Atlanta office

In an image taken from aerial video shows a red vehicle stopped by a barrier at the front gate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Atlanta division, Monday, April 1, 2024, in Chamblee, Ga. The FBI says a driver rammed a vehicle into the front gate of its Atlanta office, but his motives were not immediately known. (WSB via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — A Georgia businessman who scammed former NBA players Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons out of millions of dollars was sentenced Thursday to more than 12 years in federal prison.

A Manhattan jury in October convicted Calvin Darden Jr. of cheating Howard — who had been one of the NBA’s most dominant players in his prime — out of $7 million in a bogus scheme to buy the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.

The 50-year-old Atlanta resident was also found guilty of bilking $1 million from former NBA forward Chandler Parsons in a separate ruse involving the development of then-NBA prospect James Wiseman.

A Manhattan federal court judge on Thursday ordered Darden to forfeit $8 million, as well as several luxury items he acquired with the ill-gotten gains, including a $3.7 million Atlanta mansion, $600,000 in artwork by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a Lamborghini and a Rolls-Royce.

Lawyers for Darden, who wasn't present in court when the sentence was handed down, declined comment.

Darden was allowed to the leave the proceedings after waiving his right to be present and telling the judge he had suffered a concussion last week while in custody, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Howard testified during the trial that Darden fooled him into giving him $7 million by convincing him that it was an investment toward the purchase of the Dream.

But the eight-time All-Star and three-time NBA defensive player of the year acknowledged he only learned he wasn't an owner of the Dream when ESPN reported the team had been sold to an investor group that included former Dream guard Renee Montgomery in 2021.

Prosecutors said Darden and a sports agent also conned Parsons into sending $1 million that was supposed to aid in the development of James Wiseman, who was drafted by the Golden State Warriors as the second overall pick in the 2020 NBA draft.

But the two didn't know Wiseman, and the player never agreed to be represented by the agent as they claimed to Parsons. Wiseman last played for the Indiana Pacers before being traded to the Toronto Raptors, who waived him earlier this year.

Darden was ultimately convicted by a jury in October of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering charges.

He was previously sentenced to a year in federal prison in New York for impersonating his father, Cal Darden, a former executive at Atlanta-based United Parcel Service, in a failed bid to buy Maxim magazine.

Howard played for seven franchises after the Orlando Magic took him with the No. 1 overall selection in the 2004 draft. He won his lone NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers during the pandemic-affected 2019-20 season.

Parsons had a nine-year NBA career playing for Houston, Dallas, Memphis and Atlanta teams.

The Atlanta Dream were once co-owned by former Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, but she was pressured to sell after clashing with players over her opposition to the league’s racial justice initiatives.

FILE - Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard during an NBA basketball game against the Phoenix Suns, on Jan. 13, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)