Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today after a three-day trial, a federal jury sitting in Columbia found Joe Roger Moultrie, age 67, of Orangeburg County, guilty of two counts of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. United States District Judge Margaret B. Seymour of Columbia presided over the trial and will sentence Moultrie after receiving and reviewing a presentence report prepared by the United States Probation Office.
Evidence presented during the trial showed that on Aug. 20, 2015, an Orangeburg County Narcotics agent followed Moultrie to a local laundromat because he suspected that he was dealing narcotics. After watching Moultrie for a short time, he observed what he described as a drug deal. The narcotics agent then turned on his blue lights and attempted to stop Moultrie, who fled in his car while the officer followed him. After traveling a distance, Moultrie stopped his car and immediately got out of the car with his hands in the air and stated, “I ain’t got nothing!" The narcotics officer observed both front seat windows were down and detained Moultrie while another officer searched the roadway in the path of the pursuit. He found cocaine and crack cocaine in the roadway a short distance from the laundromat. Later DNA testing determined that Moultrie’s DNA was on the cocaine. Moultrie was arrested.
On Aug. 28, 2017, an Orangeburg County Narcotics agent received a telephone call that Moultrie was selling drugs in an area in Orangeburg called “The Hill" while driving a red SUV. Narcotics agents went to this area and saw Moultrie parked in the roadway while another person was leaning into the car through the passenger window. The agents went around the block, and when they returned to the area where they saw Moultrie, he had fled. The officers followed Moultrie’s vehicle and observed him committing multiple traffic offenses. Initially, Moultrie refused to stop but after a short chase, he stopped his red SUV. As the officers approached, they observed Moultrie was very nervous and asked if he was having a medical problem. He said no. The agents then deployed a K-9 who alerted to the armrest in Moultrie’s car. During the search of the car, the officers found a prescription pill bottle wrapped in camouflage tape containing 16 baggies of crack cocaine and cocaine in the armrest. Again, Moultrie’s DNA was found on the pill bottle, crack cocaine, and cocaine.
The maximum penalty for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine is imprisonment for 30 years and/or a fine of $2,000,000.
The case was investigated by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, and the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. Assistant United States Attorneys William K. Witherspoon and Elliott B. Daniels of the Columbia office prosecuted the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
