Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Charleston, South Carolina --- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Rashaun Allen Judge, 33, of North Charleston, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Evidence presented to the court showed that on July 13, 2016, North Charleston Police Department officers approached Judge while he was seated in his vehicle.  The defendant provided officers his driver’s license and admitted to possessing marijuana in his pocket.  Shortly thereafter, he fled the scene on foot.  Officers searched his vehicle and located 5.55 grams of cocaine, 2.97 grams of crack cocaine, and a loaded Charter Arms .38 Special handgun in the panel of the driver’s side door.   

This is Judge’s third firearm conviction.  Judge was convicted of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in 2010 and was sentenced to three years in federal prison.  While on bond for a separate state firearms charge, Judge was arrested on the underlying gun charge, which was later adopted by federal authorities.  United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel of Charleston sentenced Judge to 120 months in federal prison.  There is no parole in the federal system. 

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the North Charleston Police Department.  It was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Limehouse of the Charleston office prosecuted the case.

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