Columbia, SC 03/24/2025 - Terry Leslie Washington, 46, of West Columbia, has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that a Columbia Police Officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle for operating without a tag light. Washington was the lone occupant. Washington informed the officer that he did not have a valid driver’s license. Washington told the officer he had a gun and marijuana with him in the car. The officer conducted an inventory of the vehicle, where he found a loaded 9mm pistol along with three plastic pouches of marijuana and a clear plastic baggie containing psilocybin mushrooms. Washington was arrested.
Washington is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to prior convictions for strong-armed robbery, robbery/armed with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, robbery while armed or allegedly armed with a deadly weapon and attempted armed robbery.
United States District Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Washington to 180 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Columbia Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting the case.
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