Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2100
Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Benjamin Marcel Wright, age 23, of Greenville, pled guilty on Wednesday in federal court in Anderson for possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c). United States District Judge Timothy M. Cain accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Wright faces a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum of life in federal prison. Wright was arrested on federal firearms charges on September 15, 2016, and has remained in custody since his federal arrest. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on September 11, 2016, Greenville Police Officers were conducting foot patrol at a closed city park when they encountered Wright and a female engaged in physical activity. When officers conducted a search of Wright, they recovered a loaded .9mm pistol from his pants, and drugs from a nearby vehicle.
The Greenville Police Department along with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen in the Greenville U.S. Attorney's Office is prosecuting the case.
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