COLUMBIA, S.C. — A 33-year-old man from Lugoff has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and distribution of methamphetamine.
On multiple occasions from March to May 2023, Christopher Miles Huntington sold 37 firearms -- including stolen weapons, short-barreled rifles, and firearms with high-capacity magazines -- to undercover agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with more than 2,400 grams of methamphetamines. When he was arrested on June 29, Huntington had 23 additional firearms.
Huntington's previous felony convictions for assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, burglary, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and safecracking prohibited him from possessing firearms.
United States District Court Judge Sherri Lydon sentenced Huntington to 168 months in prison to be followed by a term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was part of the US Department of Justice's Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), involving multiple law enforcement agencies, including the ATF, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), West Columbia Police Department, Lexington County Sheriff's Department, and Richland County Sheriff's Department. The goal of PSN is to reduce violent crime and gun violence and make neighborhoods safer for everyone through 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.
