Latta man gets prison time in firearm case

Ray Lavonda Smith, 32, of Latta was sentenced to 185 months in prison after being found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a press release issued Friday by U.S. Attorney Walter Wilkins.

Evidence in the cased showed that on Jan. 11, Latta police responded to a call of shots being fired. When they arrived, witnesses told police Smith had shot someone.

Police later stopped the car Smith was traveling in and found a .22 caliber revolver in his coat pocket with one spent shell.

The case was investigated by the Latta Police Department, the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rose Mary Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case.