Laurens Man Pleads Guilty to Armed Robbery of Local Store

Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Iquill Wayne Morrison, age 22, of Laurens, pled guilty in federal court in Greenville to obstruction of commerce by robbery, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951; and to use of a firearm during a crime of violence, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).

United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong, Jr., accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Morrison faces a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment, with a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence in federal prison.  Morrison was arrested on the federal charges on November 28, 2016, and has remained in jail since that time.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on August 25, 2016, Morrison entered the Drug-Lo Pharmacy in Laurens and robbed the employees of money while he was brandishing a firearm.

Agents from the Laurens City Police Department, the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen in the Greenville U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case.

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