FLORENCE — A second Florence man has pleaded guilty to stealing firearms from a dealer and illegally possessing firearms, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Benjamin Lee Mercer Sr., 54, of Florence, faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000, and up to three years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment.
Mercer’s co-defendant and son, Benjamin Lee Mercer Jr., 31, of Florence, previously pleaded guilty to stealing firearms from a dealer and brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. Mercer Jr. faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that around 2:52 a.m. on May 12, 2024, two men — later identified as Mercer, Sr. and Mercer, Jr. — burglarized the Palmetto State Armory, a federal firearms licensee in Florence. They stole 152 firearms.
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On May 22, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a trailer in Darlington associated with the two men and found 15 firearms, all of which were stolen from the Palmetto State Armory, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a release.
Shortly before executing the search warrant, law enforcement saw Mercer Sr. get into a truck and leave the trailer. Law enforcement followed Mercer Sr., but he fled and evaded law enforcement, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
During the pursuit, Mercer Sr. was captured on video discarding a firearm. Law enforcement recovered a firearm and confirmed it was stolen from the Palmetto State Armory.
On June 17, 2024, law enforcement used a confidential informant to arrange a controlled purchase of 21 firearms from Mercer Jr. at the Darlington trailer. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said that during the buy, Mercer Jr. pulled out a handgun, pistol whipped the informant, and threatened to kill the informant.
Ultimately, the informant threw their car keys and the buy money on the ground, which Mercer Jr. took and then left in the informant’s car. Law enforcement caught up to Mercer Jr., and a high-speed chase ensued through Darlington and Florence counties.
During the chase, Mercer Jr. pointed a firearm out of the driver’s side window and repeatedly fired at law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Mercer Jr. fled to an apartment in Florence, where he barricaded himself inside but ultimately surrendered to law enforcement.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at the apartment, where they found a loaded handgun along with the buy money taken from the informant.
United States District Judge Joseph Dawson III accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence both defendants after receiving and reviewing sentencing reports prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe.
