U.S. Department
of Justice
Press Release
Rock Hill Gang Member Sentenced on Federal Firearm and Ammunition Charge
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina
Contact Person: Stacey Haynes (803) 929-3000
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated that DeMario Ontrey Ware, age 27, of Rock Hill, South Carolina was sentenced today in federal court to 46 months imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release to follow. The sentence is to be served consecutive to the 12 year state sentence Ware is currently serving for armed robbery, burglary 2nd degree, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. In February of this year, Ware plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie imposed the sentence and ran it consecutive to the current state sentence in light of Ware’s criminal history.
Evidence presented at the earlier change of plea hearing established that on the morning of May 22, 2014, officers with the Rock Hill Police Department Violent Crimes Unit were patrolling when they noticed Ware, a known gang member, on the front porch of a residence on Hickory Lane. Officers knew that Ware had an outstanding warrant for criminal domestic violence, so they approached him and placed him under arrest for that warrant. During a search incident of Ware incident to his arrest, officers located a loaded Bryco .380 caliber handgun in his front pocket. Ware is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and/or ammunition based upon his prior federal conviction for armed bank robbery and his prior state convictions for discharging a firearm into a dwelling, and criminal conspiracy to commit assault and battery 1st degree.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Rock Hill Police Department, and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office handled the case.
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Updated July 21, 2015
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