Department of Justice

Charleston, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated today that Marion Katrell Campbell, age 38, of Walterboro, South Carolina, was sentenced for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston sentenced Campbell to 360 months in prison followed by 6 years of supervised release.

 

Evidence presented at trial established that on July 8, 2017, Campbell was the driver and sole occupant of a car stopped by officers with the Walterboro Police Department for a defective headlight.  A K9 search was conducted on the vehicle after Campbell was placed under arrest for driving under suspension and failure to pay multiple traffic citations.  After a positive alert from the K9, officers searched the vehicle and located a loaded .38 caliber Charter Arms revolver under the driver’s seat, extra ammunition on the driver’s side floorboard and in the driver’s door, plastic bags containing methamphetamine in the driver’s door and center console, as well as additional plastic baggies used for packaging drugs for distribution on the front passenger seat and in the passenger door.  In total, there were 42 individual bags of methamphetamine measured out in various weights for distribution.   The total net weight of the methamphetamine was a little less than 37 grams. 

 

After Campbell was arrested, he placed numerous phone calls to his friends and family from jail trying to convince other people to claim the firearm located in the vehicle that night. 

Campbell has a lengthy criminal history, which includes convictions for criminal domestic violence, forgery, failure to stop for a blue light, strong arm robbery, multiple drug possessions, and multiple possessions with intent to distribute crack and cocaine.

 

The case was investigated by the Walterboro Police Department and agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The case was prosecuted pursuant to 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone’s longstanding partnership with the United States Attorney’s Office to target career criminals in Beaufort, Jasper, Hampton, Colleton, and Allendale Counties in federal court as well as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. 

 

Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of 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.

 

Special Assistant United States Attorney Carra Henderson of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office and Assistant United States Jamie Schoen of the US Attorney’s Office in Charleston prosecuted the case.