Myrtle Beach Man Sentenced to Nearly 4 Years in Federal Prison on Federal Gun Charge

Florence, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Sedrick Lemont Jenkins, 42, of Myrtle Beach, was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Evidence presented to the court showed that on July 30, 2018, Horry County Police Department officers received a call for service in reference to a suspicious car blocking the roadway on a street in Aynor, South Carolina. Upon arrival, officers located the car in question and conducted a traffic stop. Upon approaching the driver, Sedrick Jenkins, officers noted an odor of marijuana coming from the car. Officers deployed a K9 unit, which gave a positive alert to the odor of narcotics, and officers searched the car.  During the search, officers found a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun behind a panel in the passenger side floor compartment.  Jenkins is prohibited from possessing a firearm based on his prior federal drug convictions and his prior federal conviction for felon in possession of ammunition. 

Chief United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence sentenced Jenkins to 46 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Horry County Police Department. It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local 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.  Assistant United States Attorney Lauren L. Hummel of the Florence office prosecuted the case.

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