A Columbia man has been convicted by a federal jury on 12 counts related to gun and drug trafficking. LaClarence Lamarcus Anderson, 42, was found guilty after a two-day trial in which evidence showed he sold firearms and illegal drugs on four separate occasions over three weeks in 2024.
According to court testimony, Anderson sold multiple pistols, an AR-style rifle, methamphetamine, cocaine, and crack cocaine during these transactions. One of the weapons included a pistol equipped with a switch device that converts semi-automatic firearms into automatic weapons. Evidence indicated that the gun sales were used to further his drug trafficking activities.
Federal law prohibits Anderson from possessing firearms due to prior convictions for crimes such as assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, armed robbery, burglary, unlawful weapons sale, resisting arrest, and possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted person.
Anderson faces significant penalties following his conviction. For four counts of carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and up to life imprisonment. Each count of being a felon in possession of a firearm carries up to 15 years in prison. He also faces up to 20 years for each count of drug distribution. Additionally, Anderson could be fined up to $1 million and would be subject to five years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie presided over the trial. Sentencing will occur after Judge Currie receives and reviews the sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), an initiative designed to reduce violent crime through collaboration between law enforcement agencies and communities. The Department of Justice launched an updated violent crime reduction strategy for PSN on May 26, 2021; it emphasizes building trust within communities, supporting prevention organizations, focusing enforcement priorities strategically, and measuring outcomes (https://www.justice.gov/psn).
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elle Klein and Kathleen Stoughton prosecuted it.
"LaClarence Lamarcus Anderson has been held accountable for repeatedly selling illegal guns and drugs despite being prohibited from possessing firearms," said Adair Ford Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina.
