COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA – Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett Dehart announced today that Ashley Shay Cook, 38, of Lexington, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
Evidence presented in court established that on December 21, 2018, deputies with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department responded to Cook’s residence in search of a wanted person known to frequent the residence. After consent to search the residence for the fugitive, law enforcement observed drug paraphernalia in plain view. Law enforcement obtained and executed a search warrant on the residence and located approximately 241 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 2 grams of cocaine, baggies commonly used to package drugs for individual sales, and digital scales. After waiving her Miranda rights, Cook admitted to possessing the drugs and making drug sales. Cook was on probation at the time of the instant offense.
United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Cook to 120 months in federal prison, followed by 48 months 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) and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Special Assistant United States Attorney Casey Rankin Smith prosecuted the case.
The case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.