Columbia man suspected of killing girlfriend pleads guilty to gun charge
A Columbia man, suspected of killing his girlfriend, pleaded guilty to a federal weapons charge, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for South Carolina.
Anthony Demetrius Reese, 55, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in federal court Tuesday, according to a news release.
Reese was arrested this past September on suspicion that he murdered his girlfriend Angela Fuller. Beyond facing a federal gun charge, he continues to face state charges for murder, unauthorized removal of a dead body, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a stolen pistol.
While Reese maintains his innocence on the state charges, he now faces up to 15 years in prison on the federal gun charge in addition to a fine of up to $250,000, restitution, and three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment, according to the release.
The disappearance of Angela Fuller
Fuller was found dead Sept. 11 in a wooded area at the 100 block of Shakespeare Lane in Dentsville after being reported missing by a loved one who had not seen or heard from her since Aug. 29, according to police.
She had last been seen in the 3000 block of North Beltline Boulevard, police said.
Reese, who was quickly labeled a person of interest in Fuller’s disappearance, was apprehended Aug. 31 after a “be on the lookout” for his vehicle had been issued, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook said during a news conference last September.
A Columbia police officer spotted Reese’s car around Broad River Road and attempted to initiate a traffic stop before Reese fled. A long high-speed pursuit traversed from Richland County into Lexington County, where Reese crashed and was apprehended.
Following the pursuit, Holbrook said police found a firearm inside of Reese’s vehicle that was later determined to be the gun that killed Fuller. He was charged with failure to stop for blue lights, use of a license plate on a vehicle other than the one issued and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Fuller, who was in a romantic relationship with Reese, was fatally shot in the upper body, according to the Richland County Coroner’s Office.
