Amancio Joshua Venegas Gets 10 Years for Gun, Meth Run

Amancio Joshua Venegas, 32, of Gaffney, South Carolina, is headed to federal prison for a decade after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Cain handed down the maximum 10-year sentence yesterday in Anderson, capping a case rooted in a violent, meth-fueled attempt to broker a drug deal gone wrong.

On August 19, 2016, Venegas drove an underage female to a restaurant parking lot in Cowpens, South Carolina, where she attempted to sell meth to what she believed was a buyer. In reality, the buyer was an undercover officer. Venegas had helped the teen obtain a loaded .22 caliber pistol days before—firearm he knew she carried in her purse during the exchange.

When police moved in, Venegas bolted. He fled the scene in his Jeep Cherokee, striking a pedestrian before abandoning the vehicle on Interstate 85 in Cherokee County after slamming into a median guidewire. He ran into nearby woods but was quickly apprehended. At the time, he was just 47 days out of the South Carolina Department of Corrections and on state probation.

Federal authorities moved fast. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) picked up the case immediately after Venegas’ state arrest on August 19, 2015. He was formally arrested on federal warrants on August 24, 2016, and has remained in custody without bond ever since. His case became one of the first under the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s ‘Real Time’ prosecution initiative in the upstate.

‘Real Time’ is a coordinated crackdown—local, state, and federal—designed to fast-track the prosecution of repeat offenders caught with guns. The goal: slam the door on violent recidivists before they hit the streets again. Acting U.S. Attorney Beth Drake called the collaboration essential: ‘We work best when we work together. We welcome the opportunity to work alongside our state chiefs and sheriffs in taking individuals who illegally possess firearms out of our communities.’

The investigation involved Cowpens Police, Gaffney Police, Spartanburg and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Offices, South Carolina Highway Patrol, SLED, the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, and ATF. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Crick prosecuted. 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette praised the partnership: ‘This multi-agency effort aims to stop firearms-driven violence by identifying dangerous individuals in real time.’ Venegas now faces 120 months behind bars—no deals, no early exit.