Lexington County Man Sentenced to 66 Months in Federal Prison on Methamphetamine and Gun Charges

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Ryan L. Childs, age 29, of West Columbia, was sentenced in Columbia to 66 months imprisonment followed by a five-year term of supervised release. On June 7, 2017, Childs entered a guilty plea in federal court to one count of Possession with intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and one count of Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime.  United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis imposed the sentence. 

The evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing and sentencing hearing established that, on October 27, 2016, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department officers executed an outstanding General Sessions Bench Warrant for Mr. Childs at a residence in Lexington County.  As officers approached the residence, they saw Childs reach into his waistband, remove an item and place it in the passenger side of a vehicle.  Officers located a Glock Model 19, 9mm handgun containing 11 rounds of ammunition  and a bag of methamphetamine under the front passenger seat. 

The case was investigated by agents with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Bureau of Alchohol Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).  Assistant United States Attorney Nancy Wicker of the Columbia office prosecuted the case.

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