Jerome Daniel Sanders, Untraceable Firearms, South Carolina 2023

A South Carolina man was sentenced to federal prison for selling untraceable firearms without a license, authorities said.

Jerome Daniel Sanders, 44, of Saint George, was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to dealing privately manufactured firearms without a license and possessing a firearms silencer in violation of the National Firearms Act.

Between 2020 and 2022, Sanders listed 112 of these firearms for sale online and made several other in-person sales, including to undercover ATF agents. Sanders also sold a homemade fully functional firearms silencer to an undercover ATF agent during the investigation.

On June 3, 2023, federal agents conducted a search warrant at Sanders’ residence and recovered 35 firearms with serial numbers, 28 firearms without serial numbers, a cutting machine and drill press used to manufacture firearms, $20,000 in cash, and various other firearm manufacturing paraphernalia.

“Untraceable firearms in the hands of dangerous persons pose a significant threat to the safety of our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will investigate and prosecute those who illegally manufacture untraceable firearms and sell them for profit without a license.”

United States District Judge David C. Norton sentenced Sanders to 2 years in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. The Court also ordered Sanders to forfeit his proceeds, firearms, and manufacturing equipment as part of the judgment. The case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Low Country Violent Crime Task Force, and Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Chris Lietzow prosecuted the case.

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