Rock Hill Man Sentenced to Federal Prison on Firearm Charge

Columbia, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Richard Darryl Moon, age 55, of Rock Hill, was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Evidence presented to the court showed that the York County Sheriff’s Department was notified by an online gun distributor after Moon, a felon, had attempted to sell a SKS rifle online. That, coupled with information that Moon was selling firearms from his residence in Rock Hill, led the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the York County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit to open an investigation. Two undercover buys of firearms were made from Moon at his residence in September 2016. During those undercover buys, Moon was seen with assault rifles, handguns, and shotguns. Thereafter, in October 2016, a federal search warrant was executed upon Moon’s residence, where agents recovered four rifles, a shotgun, two handguns, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Agents also recovered a handgun from Moon’s truck.  Moon, a felon, admitted to buying and selling firearms for six years, both online and in person.

Moon is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition. His prior state convictions include: possession of cocaine (1988), driving under the influence 3^rd offense (1996), criminal domestic violence (2002), disorderly conduct (2002), criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature (2002), and accessory after the fact of murder (2004). 

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis of Columbia sentenced Moon to 24 months in federal prison, to be followed by a 2-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system. In light of Moon’s current medical condition, the court allowed Moon to delay his report date to federal prison until the fall.

The case was investigated by ATF and the York County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit. It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

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