Repeat Felon Convicted at Trial for Illegal Gun and Drug Sales

COLUMBIA, S.C. -LaClarence Lamarcus Anderson, 42, of Columbia, has been convicted by a federal jury following two days of trial. Anderson was found guilty on 12 counts of gun and drug trafficking offenses.

Evidence introduced at trial showed that on four separate occasions over about three weeks in 2024, Anderson sold drugs and guns he was not legally allowed to possess. On the first occasion, he sold a pistol, methamphetamine, and cocaine. On the second, he sold two pistols, cocaine, and crack cocaine. On the third, he sold a pistol, a rifle, and cocaine. And on the fourth, he sold three pistols, an AR-style-rifle, methamphetamine, and cocaine. He also sold a pistol with a switch on it. Switches convert semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons. Evidence showed Anderson used the gun sales to further his drug trafficking.

Federal law prohibits Anderson from possessing firearms based on previous convictions for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, armed robbery, burglary, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted person, resisting arrest, and an unlawful weapons sale.

Anderson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum of life on his four convictions for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years on four counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and a maximum sentence of 20 years on four counts of drug distribution.

He also faces a fine of up to $1 million and five years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie presided over the trial and will sentence Anderson after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Richland County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Kathleen Stoughton are prosecuting the case.

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