SPARTANBURG MAN CAUGHT IN DRUG BUST SENTENCED TO LIFE

A spartanburg man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for
his part in an october drug bust near city hall.

Tommy Rice, 43, of 11 Hanover Place was found guilty in a trial in federal
court in April.

U.S. District Judge Margaret Seymour of Spartanburg imposed the sentence
Tuesday.

United States Attorney J. Strom Thurmond said the possibility of parole has
been abolished in the federal system.

Rice was accused of aiding and abetting the distribution of 50 grams or
more of crack to a confidential informant. He was an employee of Big Tee's
Wheel and Rims on West Main Street, where evidence at the trial proved the
drug transaction took place, Thurmond said.

Rice had a prior state court conviction for possession with intent to
distribute crack, possession of heroin and possession of crack.

He was among more than 30 people indicted following a 3-month-long
investigation by agents of the Spartanburg Public Safety Department, the
Drug Enforcement Agency, FBI and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

Spartanburg Director of Public Safety Tony Fisher had requested that DEA's
Mobile Enforcement Team come to ferret out drug activity, he said in a news
conference following the arrests last year.

Seized during the investigation were 1,435 grams of crack, 203 grams of
power cocaine, 328 grams of marijuana, 51 grams of heroin, 31 grams of
methamphetamine and 27 grams of LSD, he said.

Also confiscated were two semi-automatic pistols, a .22-caliber rifle, a
.28-caliber pistol and a .357 pistol, a 1992 Ford van and a 2000 Ford
Excursion.

Fisher said at the time of the arrests that the effort by authorities
should serve as a chilling effect on those who traffic drugs in the community.

Others sentenced previously in the case include Steve Broadus of 103 Powell
St., Union, and Gary Brown, 40, of 610 Farley Ave., who were convicted of
conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack.

Brown got 14 years in prison; Broadus received a 6-year term.