Columbia Felon Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Theft of Firearms

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Cedrick K. Reddick, age 26, of Columbia, South Carolina, was sentenced to a total of 7 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee (“FFL”) and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence presented to the court showed on August 5, 2016, a FFL in Sumter, South Carolina, was burglarized and approximately 75 handguns were stolen. The investigation revealed similarities between that burglary and other burglaries of liquor stores in several counties. Through the investigation, law enforcement was able to identify Reddick as one of the suspects after a DNA match linked him to a burglary of one of the liquor stores. Additionally, a search warrant at Reddick’s apartment revealed a 9mm handgun stolen during the burglary of the FFL. Both Reddick and his co-defendant Jonathan Thompson were charged federally with the gun store theft. Thompson is awaiting sentencing in federal court after previously pleading guilty.

Federal law prohibits Reddick from possessing firearms based upon a prior South Carolina conviction for burglary 2nd degree and a prior New Jersey federal conviction for transportation of stolen firearms. At the time of this incident, Reddick was on federal supervised release after serving time on the prior New Jersey federal conviction.  Reddick’s prior federal supervision was revoked as a result of this new criminal conduct.

United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs sentenced Reddick to a total of 84 months in federal prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision. That 84-month sentence is comprised of 70 months imprisonment on the new firearm convictions and a consecutive 14-month revocation of his prior federal supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the Clinton Police Department, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

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