Mullins Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Cocaine

 Florence, South Carolina — United States Attorney Peter M. McCoy, Jr., announced today that Gregory Lavon McCollum, 46, of Mullins, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and distributing cocaine. 

Evidence presented to the court showed that on February 20, 2019, agents from the Marion County Combined Drug Unit used a confidential informant to make a controlled drug purchase from McCollum.  After being provided with police funds to make the purchase, the informant traveled to a location in Mullins and purchased a powder substance from McCollum.  A forensic scientist later confirmed that the substance was cocaine. 

United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins, Jr. sentenced McCollum to 120 months in federal prison, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Marion County Combined Drug Unit.  Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Hummel prosecuted the case.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.