Judge sentences man on gun charges

A Greeleyville man has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, acting U.S. Attorney Kevin F. McDonald said in a press release.
U.S. District Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced 26-year-old Detrell Matthews to 30 months in prison.
Williamsburg County sheriff’s investigators received a tip in April 2007 that Matthews had recently purchased a .45-caliber pistol. When contacted, Matthews admitted he had the gun and turned it over to deputies.
Matthews was convicted in federal court on a felony drug charge and was still on probation for that conviction at the time of this incident.
The case, which also was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office as part of Project CeaseFire, which seeks to prosecute people who unlawfully use or possess firearms.