Davante Jamar Moore, 34, of Richland County, pleaded guilty on Mar. 25 to illegally possessing a firearm found in his car during a traffic stop.
The case is significant because Moore was prohibited from having firearms due to previous convictions for strong arm robbery and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. The incident began when Columbia Police Department officers stopped Moore’s vehicle on March 29, 2024. During the stop, a police K9 detected the scent of narcotics.
Officers searched the vehicle and found a yellow backpack containing marijuana in a plastic bag, various bags, a scale, a container with white powder inside, and a loaded firearm. Moore was the only person in the car at the time.
Moore now faces up to 15 years in federal prison as well as possible fines up to $250,000, restitution payments, and three years of supervised release after any prison term. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted his guilty plea; sentencing will take place after review of a report by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America—a national initiative led by the Department of Justice that aims to combat illegal immigration and eliminate criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives along with the City of Columbia Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting.
