Members of Large Local Drug Conspiracy Sentenced to More Than 100 Years for Their Roles in Distributing Cocaine and Crack Cocaine in Lexington County

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that 10 defendants involved in a large drug conspiracy have been found guilty and sentenced to more than 160 years combined in prison, plus one mandatory life sentence. The last defendant, Darrell T. Washington, was sentenced on Thursday by United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson.

After numerous guilty pleas and a trial, the members of the cocaine drug conspiracy received the following sentences:

• Antonio Dupree Williams, a/k/a Antiono D. Williams, a/k/a “Dollar Bill,” a/k/a “Pree,” 292 months
• Charles Henry Gantt, a/k/a “Charles, Jr.,” 235 months
• James Lewis Williams, a/k/a “Lump,” mandatory life
• Eric Frederick Williams, a/k/a “Sweet,” 188 months
• Anthony Walker Alphonso Thompson, a/k/a “Tony,” 210 months
• William Jacoby Holloway, a/k/a “Coby”, 87 months
• Lindsay Tyrone Leaphart, a/k/a “Tyrone,” a/k/a “Sleepy,” 120 months
• Walter Leon Williams, a/k/a “Scoop Dog,” 135 months
• Joseph Junior Nelson, a/k/a “Bone,” 121 months
• Darrell T. Washington, a/k/a “D-Black,” 300 months

All the defendants are from Batesburg-Leesville and Columbia, South Carolina. They were convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 846, money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h), possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1) and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).

Evidence presented during the trial and guilty plea hearings established that Antonio Dupree Williams ran a large scale cocaine and crack cocaine conspiracy in the Batesburg-Leesville area of Lexington County. Antonio Williams would receive cocaine from Hispanic distributors who would deliver the cocaine to the homes of some of the co-conspirators. Antonio Williams typically purchased one to five kilograms of cocaine at a time. Some of the cocaine was then converted into crack cocaine. The cocaine and crack cocaine was stored at some of the homes of his co-conspirators until customers placed orders. Antonio Williams would then have other co-conspirators make the deliveries of the cocaine and/or crack cocaine to his customers. During the investigation, the FBI obtained wiretaps of multiple telephones of the co-conspirators, including Antonio Williams. These wiretaps and historical information received from other defendants provided the connection between the defendants in this case. It was estimated that this drug conspiracy involved more than 100 kilograms of cocaine.

The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Internal Revenue Service; State Law Enforcement Division; Batesburg Police Department; and the Newberry Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys William K. Witherspoon, Mark C. Moore, and J.D. Rowell of the Columbia Office handled the case.