Bishopville Man Pleads Guilty in Drug Conspiracy

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney William N. Nettles stated that Anthony Christopher Peeples (39), from Bishopville, pled guilty in federal court today in Columbia, South Carolina.

Anthony Christopher Peeples pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of powder cocaine and five grams or more of crack cocaine, a violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846. As a result of his plea on this charge and his one prior felony drug conviction, Peeples is facing a mandatory minimum term of 10 years to a maximum term of life imprisonment, no probation, no parole, a fine of $4,000,000, a term of supervised release of at least eight years, plus a special assessment of $100.

United States District Judge Cameron Currie of Columbia accepted the plea and will impose sentence after she has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Peeples was a member of a conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine that began at least in 2004 and continued up through May of 2010 when federal agents arrested several codefendants on criminal complaints.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED). Assistant United States Attorneys J.D. Rowell, Mark Moore, and Debbie Barbier of the U.S. Attorneys Office are handling the prosecution of this case.