OCT 5 -- COLUMBIA, South Carolina - United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins announced that a federal jury convicted Dwayne Roderick Ross, age 37, of Rock Hill, South Carolina, on federal drug conspiracy charges after a three-day trial. Ross was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of crack cocaine. United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie presided over the trial and will sentence Ross at a later date.

Evidence at trial showed that over the past five years, Ross was a high-level dealer of cocaine and crack in the Rock Hill area. Ross obtained cocaine and crack from suppliers in Charleston and Houston. He then sold the drugs in and around Rock Hill and Charlotte. Testimony revealed that Ross and his co-conspirators were selling so much cocaine and crack that they leased a townhouse in Charlotte from which to distribute the drugs.

Ross faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, up to a maximum term of life.

The case was investigated by the York County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the York County Sheriff’s Department, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville County Department of Public Safety, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Assistant United States Attorney James Leventis of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

Rodney G. Benson, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Atlanta Field Division, encourages parents, along with their children, to educate themselves about the dangers of legal and illegal drugs by visiting DEA’s interactive websites at www.justhinktwice.com, www.GetSmartAboutDrugs.com and www.dea.gov.

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