Columbia man sentenced to 7 years in prison for stealing 75 handguns

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) – A Columbia man was sentenced to 7 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to stealing firearms from a shop in Sumter.

Cedrick Reddick, 26, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee (FFL) and to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence presented to the court showed on August 5, 2016, a FFL in Sumter, South Carolina, was burglarized and approximately 75 handguns were stolen. The investigation revealed similarities between that burglary and other burglaries of liquor stores in several counties.

Through the investigation, law enforcement was able to identify Reddick as one of the suspects after a DNA match linked him to a burglary of one of the liquor stores.

Additionally, a search warrant at Reddick’s apartment revealed a 9mm handgun stolen during the burglary of the FFL. Both Reddick and his co-defendant Jonathan Thompson were charged federally with the gun store theft.

Thompson is awaiting sentencing in federal court after previously pleading guilty.

Federal law prohibits Reddick from possessing firearms based upon a prior South Carolina conviction for burglary 2nd degree and a prior New Jersey federal conviction for transportation of stolen firearms.

At the time of this incident, Reddick was on federal supervised release after serving time on the prior New Jersey federal conviction. Reddick’s prior federal supervision was revoked as a result of this new criminal conduct.