North Charleston Man Sentenced on Drugs and Gun Charges

Columbia, South Carolina — United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Willie Mitchell, age 35, of North Charleston, South Carolina, was sentenced in federal court in Charleston for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing with intent to distribute crack cocaine. United States District David C. Norton sentenced Mitchell to 188 months imprisonment, followed by 6 years of supervised release.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on December 21, 2009, the North Charleston Police Department executed a search warrant at Mitchell’s residence, where they found approximately six grams of cocaine base and a loaded handgun. Mitchell’s criminal history includes numerous prior convictions for drug and weapons offenses.

The case was investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the North Charleston Police Department, and was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Assistant United States Attorney Nick Bianchi of the Charleston office handled the prosecution of the case.