Columbia man who stole $20,000 in guns from Midlands store pleads guilty

A Columbia man who stole about $20,000 in guns from a Midlands store in a heist that took less than 4 minutes pleaded guilty to the crime Tuesday.

Cedric K. Reddick, 24, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee and to being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to U.S. Attorney Beth Drake.

The incident occurred Aug. 5, 2016 at Tony’s Guns and Police Supplies, a federal firearms licensee, in Sumter.

The store, across from Shaw Air Force Base, was burglarized and 69 handguns were stolen. Video surveillance shows one thief smashing display cases with a hammer while a second thief scooped up handguns and threw them into a bag.

Reddick was was one of three men arrested and charged by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department on Sept. 27, 2016 for his involvement in a string of break-ins at liquor stores that spanned multiple counties. Investigators accused Reddick of being involved in at least seven burglaries.

ATF investigators found similarities between the gun shop burglary and other burglaries of liquor stores in several counties, Drake’s office said. Reddick was identified as one of the suspects after a DNA match linked him to a burglary of one of the liquor stores.

Additionally, a search of Reddick’s apartment revealed a 9mm handgun stolen during the burglary, according to Drake’s office.

Reddick is prohibited under federal law from possessing firearms based upon a prior state conviction for second degree burglary and a prior New Jersey federal conviction for transportation of stolen firearms, Drake’s office said. At the time of this incident, Reddick was on federal supervised release after serving time on the 2013 federal conviction.

Reddick faces a maximum of 5 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release on the conspiracy charge. On the felon in possession of a firearm charge, Reddick faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and 3 years of supervised release.

The other defendant’s case is still pending in federal court.

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Columbia man who stole $20,000 in guns from Midlands store pleads guilty."