Columbia Man Charged in Multi-Defendant Drug Case Sentenced

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Ernest Gerod Sims, a/k/a “Kojack,” 44, of Columbia, South Carolina, was sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison for his role in a crack cocaine distribution conspiracy. 

According to court documents, on August 13, 2014, the Columbia Police Department, in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conducted a controlled purchase of crack cocaine from Sims.  An undercover source met with Sims at a residence on Pendleton Street and purchased crack cocaine from him.  The source then turned over the crack cocaine he had purchased to police.   This was part of a larger operation conducted by multiple police agencies targeting street-level drug sellers in the Midlands region.

Sims and eight others were charged in federal court in a 44-count indictment for their roles in a drug conspiracy.  Sims pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of crack cocaine.  United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., sentenced Sims to 188 months (15 years and 8 months) imprisonment followed by 6 years of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Richland County Sheriff's Department, and City of Columbia Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorney William K. Witherspoon of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

#####