United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina

06/13/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/13/2025 06:29

Kershaw County Man Sentence to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Press Release

Kershaw County Man Sentence to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Firearm

Friday, June 13, 2025
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For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. - Frederick Siou Beaufort, 41, of Camden has been sentenced to more than two years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that on Sept. 3, 2023, a Kershaw County sheriff's deputy saw Beaufort driving his car while not wearing a seatbelt. The deputy conducted a traffic stop on the car and while speaking with Beaufort, the deputy spotted a large hand-rolled cigarette sitting on the front passenger seat. The officer asked him what the item was, and he stated it was a "blunt," a street name for a marijuana cigarette. As the deputy searched the car, he located a handgun under the driver's side floor mat. Beaufort stated he did not have a concealed weapons permit and that he was a convicted felon.

At the time of his arrest, Beaufort had been convicted of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, resisting arrest, distribution of crack cocaine and was out on bond for murder.

United States District Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Beaufort to 27 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

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 Kershaw County Sheriff's Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting the case.

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Updated June 13, 2025
Topic
Firearms Offenses
Components
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
USAO - South Carolina
United States Attorney's Office for the District of South Carolina published this content on June 13, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on June 13, 2025 at 12:29 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at support@pubt.io