Benjamin Marcel Wright, Possession of a Firearm during a Drug Trafficking Crime, South Carolina 2016

Benjamin Marcel Wright, 23, of Greenville, walked into federal court in Anderson on Wednesday and admitted he was armed while dealing drugs—copping a plea to one count of possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).

The arrest came fast and left no room for excuses. On September 11, 2016, Greenville Police were patrolling a shuttered city park on foot when they spotted Wright and a woman engaged in suspicious physical activity. A search of Wright turned up a loaded .9mm pistol stashed in his pants. Moments later, officers found drugs in a nearby vehicle tied to the suspect.

Wright hasn’t seen freedom since September 15, 2016, when federal firearms charges locked him up. Now, facing a mandatory minimum of five years and a possible life sentence, his fate rests with U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Cain, who accepted the guilty plea and will sentence him after reviewing the presentence report from the U.S. Probation Office.

The case was built by a joint task force of the Greenville Police Department and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Evidence from the scene, including the firearm and narcotics, formed the backbone of the prosecution’s case.

Assistant United States Attorney Max Cauthen, of the Greenville U.S. Attorney’s Office, is handling the prosecution. No deals were offered. No excuses were accepted. The charge alone carries severe penalties, underscoring the federal crackdown on armed drug activity in South Carolina.

U.S. Attorney Beth Drake made the announcement today from Columbia, reaffirming the Justice Department’s zero-tolerance stance on guns in drug operations. For Wright, the plea marks the end of one fight—and the beginning of a much longer one behind bars. Contact for the U.S. Attorney’s Office: Lance Crick (864) 282-2100.

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