Columbia man sentenced to over eight years in prison after pleading guilty to firearm charge

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– According to Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart, a Columbia man was sentenced to over eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a firearm charge. In September 2020, authorities say 24-year-old Ra’Quan Rasheen Williams plead guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Officials say the charge stems from an incident on March 8, 2019, in which Columbia Police were conducting a property check at an apartment complex on Alcott Drive when officers saw Williams and two others standing by a car in the parking lot. The officers say they smelled marijuana and went up to the group to investigate. Authorities say they patted down Williams and felt a gun in his waistband when he took off running. Police say Williams dropped the 9 mm pistol while he was running, which was later recovered by police and Williams was apprehended. Investigators say they determined the gun to have a large 17-round ammunition magazine, and they also found a quantity of heroin in Williams possession.

According to officials, Williams was prohibited from possessing firearms due to several past firearms convictions, including a 2014 assault and battery conviction, a 2015 burglary in which guns were taken and carrying/concealing a weapon as an inmate at Lee Correctional Institution in 2018.

Authorities say Williams was sentenced to a total of 100 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release.