Gresham Man Sentenced for Decade of Drug Dealing

COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated today that Antawin Burgess, age 30, of Gresham, South Carolina, was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment by United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten for conspiracy to distribute crack and cocaine and distribution of cocaine.

Evidence presented during a four-day trial established that Burgess was part of a large drug distribution network operating in several counties, including Florence, Williamsburg, Georgetown, and Darlington. During the trial, 18 co-conspirator witnesses testified that they dealt multi-kilogram quantities of crack and cocaine with Burgess beginning as early as 1998. Another witness, acting as a confidential informant working for the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, also made a controlled purchase of cocaine from Burgess in January of 2007. Evidence was also presented that during a traffic stop of Burgess in August of 1998, an officer with the Williamsburg County Sheriff's Office found crack, a 9 mm handgun with two ammunition clips, and $695 cash in the vehicle Burgess was driving.

The case was investigated by agents of the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, the Williamsburg County Sheriff's Office, SLED, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office handled prosecution of the case.