Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Greenville, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Larry Anthony Ladson, Jr., 29 years old, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, who was convicted by a federal jury of possessing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute in October 2018, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.  There is no parole in the federal system.  

The evidence presented at trial showed that in March 2018, Ladson was found hiding in a bathtub when officers with the Fountain Inn Police Department were performing a protective sweep of a residence located in Simpsonville.  Law enforcement originally arrived on scene after receiving a report of a domestic incident involving a firearm.  After initially detaining three other individuals who were connected with the location, officers were clearing the residence when they discovered Ladson fully clothed in the bathtub with the lights off at approximately 2:45 p.m.  In the adjacent bedroom, law enforcement found Ladson’s driver’s license along with other identifying documents, in addition to a digital scale and clear plastic baggies used for drug packaging in plain view.  Upon obtaining a search warrant, a further search of the bedroom revealed over 1,000 grams of methamphetamine packaged in 19 separate bags, which were concealed in a backpack and hidden under layers of Ladson’s clothes in his closet.  The majority of the bags contained approximately 56 grams of the clear, crystal substance and were packaged for distribution in two-ounce quantities.

At the time of the incident, Ladson already had a warrant out for his arrest from a federal firearms violation occurring in October 2017.  Ladson was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on the methamphetamine charge and has been in continuous custody since his March 2018 arrest.  Prior to the incident, Ladson had numerous state convictions, to include: possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine (2014); possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (2014); two convictions for possession with intent to distribute marijuana (2014); burglary in the second degree, violent (2013); criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature (2013); and assault and battery in the first degree (2013).

The charges against Ladson were the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Fountain Inn Police Department.  This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project CeaseFire initiative.  Project CeaseFire is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a crime reduction strategy originally launched in 2001 that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Turning the tide of rising violent crime in America is a top priority for the Department of Justice, which has reinstituted PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy.  Assistant United States Attorney Justin Holloway of the Florence office prosecuted the case.