Marion Man Enters Guilty Plea in Federal Court on Gun Charges

Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2100

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Willis Terrance Dorsey, age 30, of Marion, pled guilty on Monday in federal court in Florence, to possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C) and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1).  United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
 
The evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that on February 2, 2016, officers with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Department initiated a traffic stop on Dorsey on Interstate 20 in Darlington, South Carolina.  After determining that Dorsey did not have a valid driver’s license, officers found 26 grams of crack cocaine on Dorsey's person and a 9mm Keltec pistol in the vehicle. Dorsey subsequently told the officers that he had been selling crack cocaine. Individuals who sell illegal drugs while armed with a firearm are subject to prosecution pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c) because of the inherent danger of violence created by the presence of a firearm.

Ms. Drake stated the defendant faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of life in prison on the firearms charge.

The case was investigated by the Darlington County Sheriff’s Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Buddy Bethea of the Florence office handled the case.

#####