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by JENN WOOD
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A Columbia man charged with murdering his girlfriend has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possessing the gun authorities say was used to kill her.
U.S. district court judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. sentenced Anthony Demetrius Reese, 56, to the statutory maximum after concluding Reese was responsible for the August 2025 murder of Angela Fuller – and used the firearm in question to commit the crime, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Reese pleaded guilty in March to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The federal conviction was for the gun offense, not murder.
Fuller was last heard from on August 29, 2025. According to federal prosecutors, she left a Cayce, S.C. residence with Reese that night. Prosecutors say Reese dumped her body in a wooded area off Two Notch Road early the following morning.
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A relative reported Fuller missing on August 31, 2025. Columbia police identified Reese, whom they described as Fuller’s boyfriend, as the last person seen with her. Officers located his vehicle that day, but Reese fled an attempted traffic stop and led them on a pursuit that ended in a crash in Lexington, according to police.
Inside Reese’s Honda Pilot, officers found a Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver on the dashboard, according to a federal investigator’s affidavit. The revolver held four live rounds and one spent casing. Federal prosecutors said ballistic testing later confirmed it was the gun used to kill Fuller.
The search for Fuller continued after Reese’s arrest. Columbia police said investigators checked 97 locations in one day before finding her remains on September 11 in a wooded area along Shakespeare Road in northeast Richland County. The Richland County Coroner’s Office determined that she had been shot in the upper body. Police also said testing identified Fuller’s blood in her vehicle, and investigators reviewed more than 500 hours of surveillance footage showing the couple traveling together around Columbia.
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Police announced state charges against Reese on September 18, 2025: murder, unauthorized removal of a dead body, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a stolen pistol. Those charges are separate from the federal firearm case – and remain pending.
Before the federal sentencing, Reese’s attorney asked Anderson to impose less than 15 years. In a written motion (.pdf), the defense argued that applying a sentencing guideline tied to the alleged killing would make the firearm sentence far longer than the range Reese otherwise would have faced. The motion cited his family ties, work history and the length of time since his last felony conviction. It acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations while disputing whether the maximum sentence was necessary.
Anderson overruled Reese’s objection to the presentence report and denied his request for a lower sentence. The written judgment (.pdf), entered September 23, imposed 180 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Columbia police investigated the federal case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lamar J. Fyall prosecuted it.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
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