Marlboro County Man Pleads Guilty in Federal Court to Drug Distribution Charge

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated that Tommy Adams, Jr., age 41, entered a guilty plea in federal court in Florence to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a quantity of cocaine base, also known as crack cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell, of Florence, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after a pre-sentence report is prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing and previous court hearings established that officers with the Bennettsville Police Department (BPD) were investigating unlawful drug activity in the Ella Street area of Bennettsville, South Carolina. As part of that investigation, BPD officers utilized a confidential informant who purchased a quantity of cocaine base from Adams on November 2, 2017. After further investigation, a search warrant was obtained and served on February 2, 2018. Police found quantity amounts of cocaine and cocaine base in a car driven by Adams. A loaded .38 caliber revolver was also found in the car. 

Adams has multiple state convictions for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Adams faces a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $2,000,000 and 6 years of supervised release on the drug distribution charge.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) along with the Bennettsville Police Department investigated the case as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001. Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher D. Taylor and A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office handled the case.

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