Curtis Hill, III, aged 36 and a resident of Columbia, South Carolina, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. Hill pleaded guilty to charges of drug conspiracy and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
The investigation revealed that Hill sold methamphetamine to confidential sources on three occasions. During one of these transactions, he was found with firearms. After the drug buys, Hill fled from officers during a traffic stop and discarded methamphetamine while being pursued. Law enforcement later recovered the drugs and found a firearm in his vehicle.
At the time of these offenses, Hill was on federal supervised release. He has prior convictions for assault and battery, common law robbery, assault battery of a high and aggravated nature, and a federal conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Hill to 180 months imprisonment followed by five years of court-ordered supervision. The judge also imposed an additional 24-month sentence for violation of supervised release, which will run concurrently with the 15-year sentence. In the federal system, there is no parole.
The case was investigated by multiple agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Homeland Security Investigations; the West Columbia Police Department; and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elle E. Klein is prosecuting the case.
