LATTA FELON SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 15 YEARS

United States Attorney W. Walter Walkins announced today that Ray Lavonda Smith, age 32, of Latta, was sentenced in federal court to 185 months imprisonment by United States District Judge Terry Wooten, following his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm..

Evidence in the case showed that Latta police responded to a “shots fired” call on January 11, 2008. Witnesses told officers that Ray Smith had shot at another man. Police stopped a car matching the description of the suspect vehicle and performed a pat down search of Smith, who was seated in the passenger seat. Officers seized a loaded .22 caliber revolver from Smith’s coat pocket, at which time Smith slipped out of his jacket and fled from the scene on foot. There was one spent shell casing in Smith’s gun.

Smith has numerous prior convictions: Distribution of Crack and Possessing a Firearm in 1994; Distribution of Crack in 1995; Possession of Crack in 2001; Resisting Arrest in 2004; Assault and Battery in 2005; and Assault and Battery of a High and Aggravated Nature in 2006.

The case was investigated by the Latta Police Department, the Dillon County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rose Mary Parham of the Florence Office.