Camden man faces 15 to life for Lee County firearm arrest

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A 30-year-old Camden man entered a guilty plea in federal court for a firearm charge on Thursday for allegedly possessing a handgun in Lee County in 2017 despite prior felony convictions.

Evidence presented at Darrin Paul George's hearing established that Lee County Sheriff's Office deputies saw the defendant throw an object out of his vehicle as he approached a checkpoint in Bishopville on July 2, 2017, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the District of South Carolina.

The object was identified as a loaded pistol.

At the time of the incident, George was prohibited from possessing firearms after a 2008 armed robbery conviction and two convictions for distribution of cocaine in 2010 and 2011, states the release.

George pleaded guilty to the charge of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony and will be sentenced after review of a pre-sentence report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon said the maximum penalty for the charge is 15 years to life imprisonment, supervised release for five years and/or a fine of $250,000.

This case was investigated by Lee County Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases.