CHARLESTON, S.C. — Deandre Malik Horry, a/k/a “Sosa”, 29, of Mount Pleasant, has been convicted by a federal jury following a two-day trial. Horry was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of, and during and in relation to, a federal drug trafficking crime.
Evidence introduced at trial showed that beginning in approximately 2020 and continuing until at least July 2022, Horry and others conspired to distribute fentanyl to drug dealers and customers in the Charleston area. The jury determined that Horry conspired to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl.
On July 11, 2022, a Charleston County Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on Horry’s vehicle in North Charleston after federal agents observed a possible drug transaction involving Horry and a co-conspirator. The deputy located 11 grams of fentanyl in Horry’s sock, a loaded Glock pistol in the vehicle’s center console, more than $1,400 in cash, a digital scale, and a holster for the pistol.
Horry faces a mandatory term of imprisonment of at least 10 years.
U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers, II, presided over the trial and will sentence Horry after receiving and reviewing a pre-sentence report from the U.S. Probation Office.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Lowcountry Violent Crimes Task Force, with assistance from the Charleston Police Department, North Charleston Police Department, Charleston County Sheriff’s Office, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Summerville Police Department, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Whit Sowards and Emily Limehouse are prosecuting the case.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — South Carolina — U.S. Department of Justice press release.