Curley Brooks, Jr., 47, of Lexington, was sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

Evidence presented to the Court showed that the police were conducting a parcel inspection at the FedEx Express Hub in West Columbia when a K-9 gave a positive alert to a package. As a result of the positive alert, the police opened the package and found it contained approximately two pounds of cocaine. The Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) made a controlled delivery of the parcel.

The police maintained surveillance on the package after it was delivered. A truck pulled into the driveway of the residence, and the driver, who was later identified as Curley Brooks, Jr., exited the driver side door, walked to the front door, and took the package. Brooks then carried the package back to his vehicle, where he got in with it.

Brooks then backed out of the driveway and attempted to leave. Agents attempted to stop Brooks as he was leaving the residence. Brooks attempted to evade law enforcement by driving into the yard and, when doing so, struck a SLED vehicle.

Other agents attempted to block Brooks’ truck from leaving the yard to prevent a pursuit, but Brooks made a sharp turn and almost struck a second police vehicle. When Brooks turned to avoid hitting the police vehicle, he rear-ended a civilian car sitting at a stop sign. Brooks then placed the truck in reverse to try to back up and struck another police vehicle.

As Brooks drove off, other agents were pulling up in the intersection, and Brooks drove head-on and struck their vehicle before being stopped. Brooks was then taken into custody. The parcel was recovered sitting on the passenger floorboard of the truck. During the entire incident, Brooks’ two-year-old child was unsecured in the backseat of the vehicle.

Senior United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten sentenced Brooks to 160 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting the case.