BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Twenty-seven men and women who are accused of drug dealing or other violent crimes in Berkeley County are now behind bars. They are facing multiple weapons and drugs charges.
Sheriff Duane Lewis says this was all part of the county’s ongoing Violent Crime Reduction Partnership investigation, which he called a “loosely organized” drug ring. The arrests took place June 22nd in the Rutt Lane and Howe Hall Road area near Goose Creek. Deputies are still searching for one man, Rico Montril Reid, who is facing weapons and drug charges.
“We needed to get them off the street. I asked for federal partners to help us because I’d like to see them get longer prison sentences. If we pluck them out of that area, the neighborhoods in Berkeley County will be safer,” Lewis said.
Sheriff Lewis announced the investigation and arrest sweep with members of Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, working in conjunction with SLED, SCHP, SC Probation, Parole & Pardon Services, Goose Creek Police, Hanahan Police, Moncks Corner Police, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and the United States Marshals Service.
US Attorney for South Carolina Beth Drake says this sweep in the result of great leadership and law enforcement working together.
“There is no division. It is working together on a common mission, the core mission of government of protecting our people from crime, violence, and narcotics,” Drake said.
THE ARRESTS
Below is a list of everyone arrested with their charges:
- Terry Hicks – Simple Possession of Marijuana
- Aaron Stewart – Fail to Pay Support
- Brandon Myers – Dist. Cocaine ½ Mile of School & GS Bench Warrant
- Wesley Xavier Howell – Simple Possession of Marijuana
- Micko, John Edward -Simple Possession of Marijuana
- Kaila Renea Sommer – B/W for Possession of Marijuana
- Matthew Canterbury – Open Container
- DeAndre Marcus Baylock – Possession With Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base, Poss. Of Weapon by Convicted Person
- Eric Richardson – Possession With Intent to Distribute Meth.
- Larry Donell Williams – Dist. Cocaine Base
- Joe Travis – Family Court B/W
- Santerio Bernard Smith – GS Bench Warrant X5
- DaVone Anthony Lee Anderson – Bench Warrant (Disorderly Conduct)
- Kevin Lemon McGee Jr. – Simple Possession of Marijuana & Possession of Schedule 2 Narcotic
- Michael Dean Jones Jr. – Domestic Violence 2nd
- Isiah Stroud – Domestic Violence 3rd (Hanahan PD Case)
- Joshua Christopher McDonald – Hold for Drug Charge & 3 B/W
- Vanessa Mashburn – Simple Possession of Marijuana
- Christopher Marchant – Possession With Intent to Distribute Marijuana
- Robert Larsen – Malicious Injury to Courthouse/County Jail Property
- Mary Castelan – B/W (Noise Ordinance)
- Quenten Jrell Barr – Simple Possession of Marijuana
- Christopher Thomas Keane – False Information to LE & Hold DCSO
- Alex James Charon – Possession of Meth
- Denise Armenia Ballard – Hold for Missouri
- Jamal Demetric Ladream Pringle – DUS & Bench Warrants x3
- Jeremy Griffith – Simple Possession of Marijuana (No Photo Available)
THE INVESTIGATION
“This investigation began two years ago,” Lewis said. “A number of residents of Howe Hall Road, Rutt Lane, and the general Goose Creek area came forward talking to me about the amount of violence going on in that area. We saw the violence kept rising, so I asked ATF for help.”
During the operation, stolen firearms, quantities of heroin, cocaine, marijuana and other drugs were purchased from some of the individuals arrested, deputies say.
“We were familiar with the shootings and drug-related violence that had happened in there before,” said ATF agent CJ Harmon.
Harmon took a moment to recognize and thank the officers who went undercover to gather information and evidence for the investigation.
“To ask them to go in there and risk their lives literally to undertake this investigation is a large task. I want to thank them,” Harmon said.
THE COMMUNITY IMPACT
SC House of Representatives member Sam Rivers grew up near the area and represents the people of the area. He says this investigation and sweep was in response to the “cry for help” from some residents nearby.
He says part of the problem includes that the area is an unincorporated area of the county, a lack of parental involvement, low-income levels, low education levels, and unemployment, which he says could cause people to turn to crime to “get rich quick.”
“In the process of it, they are destroying the community that they grew up in and lived in for years. The elderly who live there, they don’t know what they can do,” said Rivers. “They go along with it to keep themselves safe in their minds.”
“I told the people we were going to do something down there. It’s been two years. I’m announcing this today because this work has paid off,” Lewis said.
As residents learned of these multiple arrests, the sheriff says many people have reached out to him. “I received numerous Facebook messages,” Lewis said. “They’ve already seen a change, people are breathing a little easier now.”
But investigators say their work will continue. Sheriff Lewis says this is a warning for others thinking about committing crimes.
“This is just the beginning. We will not stop. I pledge to the people of this county that drugs, weapons, we were going to go after those individuals who were involved in those illegal crimes,” Lewis said. “The next time you are thinking about selling drugs or illegal weapons in Berkeley County, you better look over your shoulder.”
Photos of guns and drugs recovered during the investigation and the scene at Rutt Lane and Howe Hall Road provided by Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office.
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