Release Date
03/19/2026
COLUMBIA, S.C.
De’Marionne Zaquann Miller, 22, of Lexington, has pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that on June 14, 2025, deputies from the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department responded to an apartment after a family reported that they were concerned that Miller was holding a victim captive in the apartment. The victim sent her family alarming text messages the day before this incident. The victim’s family drove from Florida to check on the victim and were waiting outside of the apartment during this ordeal.
As deputies were en route to the location, they learned that Miller had an outstanding warrant for a probation violation. As law enforcement arrived on scene, Miller ran out of the apartment with an AK style rifle and a backpack. When deputies caught Miller, he did not have the rifle, but after arresting Miller, the deputies retraced his path and found the AK style firearm.
In the seized backpack, deputies located cash, numerous individual bags of marijuana, and two cellphones. A subsequent search of the apartment found a large vacuum sealed bag of marijuana, a scale used in weighing the marijuana, and ammunition for the firearm. Miller is prohibited from possessing a firearm and ammunition based upon prior convictions for escape and unlawful carrying of a pistol.
Miller faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. He also faces a fine of up to $250,000 and five years of supervision to follow the term of imprisonment. United States District Judge Cameron McGowan Currie accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Miller after receiving and reviewing a sentencing report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was investigated by FBI Columbia Field Office and the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting the case.