Lexington County Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA — Jerry Ward Galloway, 47, of Lexington, was sentenced to 8 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence presented to the Court showed that the United States Marshal Service Fugitive Task Force located Galloway at a local hotel.  Galloway had an outstanding arrest warrant.  When the agents arrested Galloway, they saw several plastic bags in plain view.  The agents obtained a search warrant and during their search, they found a marijuana grinder, more plastic bags, a marijuana pipe, a scale, a glass jar containing marijuana and a firearm with three magazines.

Galloway was prohibited from possessing a firearm based upon convictions for burglary 2nd offense, financial transaction card theft, possession of crack cocaine, distribution of methamphetamine, 3 counts of manufacturing of methamphetamine, and possession with the intent to distribute heroin.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Galloway to 96 months (8 years) imprisonment, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, 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.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), United States Marshal Fugitive Task Force, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon prosecuted the case.

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