A federal jury convicted a Greenville man on Tuesday, March 28 of illegally possessing a firearm after having been convicted of a felony and four counts of distributing methamphetamine.
According to court documents and evidence presented at a two-day trial, Clarence Lamar Buck, age 51 of Greenville, distributed methamphetamine on four separate occasions out of the Express Inn in Greenville in January of 2021. Approximately a year later, the United States Marshals Service, along with the Greenville Police Department, served an arrest warrant on Buck for bond violations. During a search of Buck’s room, officers found a Ruger .22 caliber handgun. Records reflect that at the time Buck possessed the gun, he had multiple prior felony convictions, including a conviction for sale of a controlled substance.
“The defendant is a repeat felon who injected poison into his community in the form of methamphetamine,” stated U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “The Greenville Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service are to be commended for their hard work on this case, and we are proud to stand with them to stem the flow of illegal narcotics and to get firearms out of the hands of criminals.”
“Making sure that those who break the law are apprehended, and convicted, is our priority,” remarked Greenville Police Chief Marcus Turner. “We appreciate the partnership that we have with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and look forward to working together to ensure the safety of our community.”
The Greenville Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie Addison and Sam Stringfellow.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: 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.
