Florence Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years on Federal Drug Charge

Contact Person: Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake announced today that Cederic Sharnard Bruce, age 31, of Florence, SC, was sentenced in federal court in Florence for possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1). United States District Judge Bruce H. Hendricks of Charleston sentenced Bruce to 140 months in federal prison.

Evidence presented at Bruce’s guilty plea hearing established that Bruce and others in the Florence County and Darlington County area were subjects in an ongoing drug distribution conspiracy investigation dating back to 2005 conducted by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), the Florence Police Department (FPD), the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. As part of that investigation, in July 2013, a Florence Police Department officer stopped a vehicle in which Bruce and others were traveling. Police officers ultimately searched the car, and found a quantity of cocaine and a quantity of cocaine base hidden in the car.

The case was investigated by agents Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), Florence Police Department, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in cooperation with the Pee Dee Violent Crimes Task Force. Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Taylor of the Florence office prosecuted the case.

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