FLORENCE, S.C. — A routine traffic stop in Florence turned into a 22-year federal sentence for the driver.
According to court records, on July 27, 2018, deputies with the Florence County Sheriff's Office Proactive Community Enforcement (PACE) Team pulled over a vehicle driven by Gregory Bernard Gibson, 44, of Florence, after Gibson pulled out in front of the deputy's unmarked car, failing to yield the right-of-way. The deputy initiated a traffic stop on Gibson’s car based on the traffic violation. When he approached the car, the deputy immediately smelled the odor of marijuana, and Gibson stated that he had a small, personal-use quantity of the substance in his vehicle.
Based on the odor of marijuana, deputies searched the car. Once inside, they found what amounted to a mobile drug distribution center. There was a loaded, .45 caliber Glock semi-automatic pistol in the center console. Federal law prohibits Gibson from possessing a firearm based on several prior federal and state convictions for drugs and other offenses. Directly behind the center console and in front of a child car seat, deputies found a backpack containing distribution quantities of powder cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana; a bottle of a “cutting agent” drug dealers mix with drugs before they are sold to increase the amount the user thinks he is buying; multiple plastic baggies used to package drugs for sale; and a digital scale containing cocaine and marijuana residue.
Hidden inside a void underneath the cup holder area, deputies found a large piece of crack cocaine and 300 tablets of methamphetamine. After assimilating the large quantity of drugs and firearm evidence, the PACE team partnered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to bring the case to federal court for prosecution.
United States District Judge Mary G. Lewis of Columbia sentenced Gibson to 262 months in federal prison, to be followed by a six-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
