Date: 07-12-2018

Case Style:

Case Number: 3:17-cr-00862-CMC

Judge: Cameron McGowan Currie

Court: United States District Court for the District of South Carolina (Richland County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Stacey D. Haynes

Defendant's Attorney: Daniel C Leonardi - FPD

Description: Columbia, SC - Lexington Man Sentenced to 15 Years on Federal Drug and Firearm Charges

Bryshun Genard Furlow, age 34, of Lexington, was sentenced in federal court to 180 months (15 years) imprisonment with 6 years of supervised release to follow. Furlow plead guilty in April to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, and a substance containing both methamphetamine and cocaine, as well as to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 851 and Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2), and 924(e). Senior United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie, of Columbia, imposed the sentence.

Evidence presented in court established that on November 3, 2016, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department executed a state search warrant at Furlow’s Wessinger Street apartment after having made three separate controlled purchases of crack cocaine in September and October 2016 from Furlow at the apartment. During the search of the apartment, deputies recovered baggies of cocaine, methamphetamine, and tablets consisting of cocaine and methamphetamine. Deputies also recovered two digital scales, $5,422, a pyrex dish with cocaine residue, a .40 caliber handgun, a .38 caliber revolver, and various rounds of .40 caliber and .38 caliber ammunition. Furlow, his girlfriend, and two children were at the apartment at the time of the search. After being advised of his rights, Furlow admitted to the drugs in the apartment.

Furlow is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms and ammunition based upon his prior Georgia state convictions for possession with intent to distribute cocaine (2003), possession with intent to distribute marijuana (2003), possession of cocaine (2008), aggravated stalking (2008), arson 1st degree (2 counts)(2008), terroristic threats (2008) and his prior South Carolina state conviction for distribution of crack cocaine (April 2016). Due to his extensive prior record, Furlow was classified as an armed career criminal and career offender, which increased his potential sentences.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department and was prosecuted as part of Project CeaseFire, a joint federal, state and local initiative focused upon aggressively prosecuting firearm cases in an effort to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction strategy originally launched in 2001. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority and reinstituted PSN nationwide.

Outcome: Defendant was sentenced to 180 months in prison.

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