Arizona man sent clock to SC, official says. He’s in prison for what else was in box
An Arizona man is going to federal prison for using the mail to ship drugs to South Carolina and other parts of the Southeast, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Antonie Elbert Eaddy — a 49-year-old Goodyear, Arizona, resident — was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute drugs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Thursday in a news release. In November 2024, Eaddy pleaded guilty in Columbia to the conspiracy charge, according to U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Eaddy used the mail to sell 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, 400 grams or more of fentanyl, a quantity of crack cocaine and a quantity of marijuana, according to the release.
During an investigation, law enforcement officers intercepted telephone calls between Eaddy and others talking about sending cocaine and fentanyl from Arizona to South Carolina, concealing them in a box that contained a clock and sending the proceeds back to Eaddy in Arizona, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Eaddy shipped packages of drugs to Columbia, Florence, Myrtle Beach as well as locations in North Carolina, Maryland and Florida, according to the release.
Eaddy also used couriers to bring drugs to the East Coast and return the drug proceeds to him in Arizona, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Police learned of his operation while investigating a person in Columbia who was purchasing cocaine from Eaddy, according to the release. Police seized two packages that contained drugs that were set to be delivered to another co-conspirator in Columbia for a wider distribution, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
Eaddy and four other members of the conspiracy were charged together in South Carolina, and all pleaded guilty to their involvement in the conspiracy, according to the release. Information about their punishments was not available.
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Eaddy to 135 months in prison, to be followed by a 5-year term of court-ordered supervision, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. There is no parole in the federal system.
Eaddy faced a maximum punishment of a life sentence in federal prison and a $10,000,000 fine.
This case was investigated by the DEA and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Department of Homeland Security, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Witherspoon led the prosecution. Information about Eaddy’s attorney was not available.
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