Florence, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Larry Eugene Alford, 30, and Dale Carroll Drew Oneal, 24, both of McBee, South Carolina, were sentenced in federal court for gun and drug charges. Alford was sentenced to 100 months in federal prison, followed by 5 years of court-ordered supervision, after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Oneal was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of court-ordered supervision, after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possession of 69 stolen firearms. Chief United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence sentenced both defendants. There is no parole in the federal system.
Evidence presented to the court at Oneal’s guilty plea hearing established that on Nov. 14, 2017, two subjects wearing camouflage-colored clothing and masks and carrying a large cardboard box and blue tote bag broke into and burglarized a Federal Firearms Licensee in Patrick, South Carolina. The subjects stole 69 firearms. The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at a house where a witness saw Oneal and Alford on the day of the burglary with a blue tote bag and a large cardboard box. Deputies found camouflage-colored clothing, a blue tote bag, and two firearms stolen from the FFL burglary, along with five other firearms.
On Nov. 17, 2017, Oneal was arrested on a state probation violation warrant, and officers found a firearm stolen during the FFL burglary in the vehicle he was driving. Officers found a second firearm stolen during the FFL burglary on the ground near the vehicle. Federal law prohibits Oneal from possessing firearms and ammunition based on his prior felony conviction for Receiving Stolen Goods.
Evidence presented to the court at Alford’s guilty plea hearing established that on Nov. 16, 2017, an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and a confidential informant purchased five of the firearms stolen during the FFL burglary from Alford at his house in McBee. The undercover agent also purchased an Oxycodone pill from Alford, and during the transaction, there was a scoped rifle in the room. Federal law prohibits Alford from possessing firearms and ammunition based on his prior felony controlled substance offense conviction.
The charges against Alford and Oneal were the result of an investigation by ATF, the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office, and the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction strategy originally launched in 2001 that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. Turning the tide of rising violent crime in America is a top priority for the Department of Justice, which has reinstituted PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy. Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Hummel of the Florence office prosecuted the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
