Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced that Joshua Cain Sharpe, age 39, of Columbia, entered a guilty plea in federal court to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A)(i); and, possession with intent to distribute a quantity of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will impose a sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented in court during the guilty plea hearing established that on Nov. 20, 2015, the Columbia Police Department responded to a call of shoplifting at a clothing store on Bush River Road. When officers arrived, they encountered a vehicle driven by a woman matching the description of one of the two shoplifters. Upon approaching the vehicle, the police detected a smell of marijuana. Officers removed the woman from the vehicle and began searching the vehicle. Near the steering wheel, inside the fuse panel, police found a silver Raven Arms P-25.25 caliber pistol with a magazine containing two bullets. The safety switch of the firearm was in the off position. Officers also located 11.2 grams of methamphetamine under the driver’s seat of the vehicle. Additionally, the police located a quantity of marijuana and drug paraphernalia including a black digital scale covered in white residue.
Officers entered the store and made contact with a man matching the description of the second shoplifter, Joshua Cain Sharpe. After waiving his rights, Sharpe admitted that the firearm and methamphetamine belonged to him. Sharpe also admitted to hiding the firearm and drugs in the vehicle without the woman’s knowledge. The woman also waived her rights and confirmed that she had no knowledge of the firearm and drugs. Pursuant to a cell phone search warrant, officers also observed text messages on the defendant’s phone referring to the buying and selling of drugs.
Sharpe is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms based upon his prior state convictions for trafficking in cocaine, burglary (two separate counts), and armed robbery. Sharpe was out on bond when this incident occurred.
Sharpe faces a maximum of life imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and five years of supervised release on the offense of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and the Columbia Police Department and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Alyssa Leigh Richardson of the Columbia office handled the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
