North Augusta man sentenced in federal drug case

Bianca Moorman, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·2 min read

Oct. 19—A North Augusta man will spend nine years in federal prison after pleading guilty in a federal drug trafficking case.

Robert Lewis Coney Jr., 50, of North Augusta, pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, according to a media release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Georgia.

Coney will spend 108 months in jail after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia David H. Estes, said in a release.

Coney will be ordered to pay a $2,000 fine and serve five years of supervised release after completion of his term, the release said.

Coney is not eligible for parole in the federal system.

Coney's co-defendant, Donnie Lee, 37 of Tunnel Hill, Georgia, was sentenced in September to 144 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, the release said.

Court documents and testimony identified Curtis and Coney as methamphetamine traffickers during an investigation in 2021 initiated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

With assistance from the Columbia County Sheriff's Office, both men were arrested during a drug deal in the parking lot of a motel in Grovetown, Georgia, on May 19, 2021, the report said.

Police also seized large amounts of high-grade methamphetamine and multiple firearms during searches of a vehicle and hotel room in Grovetown and Trenton, the release said.

Curtis, a member of the Aryan Brotherhood criminal street gang, was identified as Coney's source of supply for the illegal drugs, the release said. Coney is affiliated with the Red Devils Motorcycle Gang, a support club of the Hell's Angels.

The case was investigated by the U.S. DEA and the CCSO with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremiah L. Johnson.