Effingham Felon Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison for Drug and Gun Charges

Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Dustin Earl Odom, age 24, of Effingham, South Carolina, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison after pleading guilty in October 2018 to possession with intent to distribute marijuana and being a felon in possession of a firearm.   

Evidence presented in court established that on July 19, 2017, Odom committed a traffic infraction and was stopped as part of a routine traffic stop in Darlington County, South Carolina.  Upon approaching the vehicle, the officer smelled marijuana and asked Odom, the only occupant of the vehicle, to step outside.  The officer found approximately 110 grams of marijuana and a loaded Spring Armory XDM .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the vehicle.

Officers later found two additional firearms in his residence—a Ruger LCP .380 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a Taurus Judge .45 caliber revolver.

Federal law prohibits Odom from possessing a firearm, and this is not the first time he has been convicted of unlawfully possessing a gun.  Odom was convicted in 2013 at the age of 18 for the unlawful carrying of a pistol in state court.  Odom also has previous state court felony convictions for burglary in the second degree and criminal conspiracy.

United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell, of Florence, accepted Odom’s guilty plea and sentenced him to 24 months in federal prison followed by three years of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Holloway prosecuted the case.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, Darlington County Drug Enforcement Unit, Florence Police Department, and the Hartsville Police Department.  This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases.  Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of 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.

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