Men Sentenced in Cocaine Conspiracy

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated that Juan Luis Knowles, age 45, a Cuban national residing in Miami, Florida, and Wilson Lopez Harris, age 50, of Columbia, South Carolina, were sentenced in federal court for their respective roles in the delivery of approximately three kilos of cocaine from Miami to Columbia on March 14, 2008. Knowles was sentenced to 210 months and Harris to 78 months for conspiracy and the distribution of cocaine. United States District Judge Cameron M. Currie imposed the sentences, which will be followed by eight years of supervised release.

Evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that on March 14, 2008, Knowles drove from Miami to Columbia and delivered three kilograms of cocaine to Harris at his home. Shortly thereafter, officers with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at the home, seizing the cocaine and arresting Knowles and Harris.

Mr. Wilkins stated that Knowles had previously been convicted of two federal drug trafficking offenses.

The case was investigated by agents of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy C. Wicker and Mark C. Moore of the Columbia office handled the prosecution of the case.