CONTACT PERSON: Brook Andrews, First Assistant United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, [email protected], (803) 929-3000
Quadree Shakur Mayers, 36, of Columbia, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to four counts of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of controlled substances, one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence presented to the Court showed that over a 16-day period in late February and early March 2020, Mayers sold controlled substances to an undercover law enforcement agent on four separate occasions. On February 26, 2020, Mayers sold the agent 7 grams of a heroin/fentanyl mixture. On March 3, 2020, Mayers sold the agent 22 grams of a heroin/fentanyl mixture and 6 grams of methamphetamine. On March 9, 2020, Mayers sold the agent 51 grams of methamphetamine.
On March 13, 2020, Mayers distributed approximately 27 grams of heroin to the agent. When he arrived to conduct the sale on March 13, Mayers carried a red fanny pack containing both the heroin and a loaded SCCY 9mm handgun. Federal law prohibits Mayers from possessing firearms and ammunition based on his prior criminal history.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Mayers to 120 months in prison, to be followed by a 5-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms.
NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin.
This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by Columbia Police Department, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine Flynn and Elizabeth Major prosecuted the case.
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