On Friday, June 14th, three people were arrested in Gaston, SC on serious gun and drug charges.
Officers with the Lexington County Multi-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Team (NET), as well as the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), executed a search warrant on a home in Gaston.
The officers arrested three people, who all lived in the home – Brittney Nicole Jay, 26; Samuel Derrell Sims, 20; and Christopher Tywhun Wilson, 37. The three suspects were all arrested for trafficking in guns and a variety of illegal drugs.
During the search, officers uncovered $3,000 worth of cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana. They also discovered two firearms in the residence – one High Point 9-mm handgun and one .22-caliber Mossberg rifle.
Jay was arrested on drug charges including trafficking in crack cocaine, possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Sims’s gun and drug charges include trafficking in crack cocaine, possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, possessing marijuana with intent to distribute, possessing a firearm during the commission of a violent crime, distributing cocaine, and distributing crack cocaine. Wilson faces the same gun and drug charges as Jay, with an additional two counts of distributing cocaine.
Each of the three suspects was held on the drug charges on Friday at the Lexington County Detention Center while awaiting bond hearings.
According to reports, the undercover investigation into the suspects’ drug charges began two months ago.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department asks anyone with information about illegal drug activity to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-CRIME-SC.
Drug Charges in South Carolina: Trafficking and Intent to Distribute
South Carolina has some of the strictest penalties in the nation if you are found guilty on drug charges. Even possessing a small amount of marijuana can land you with jail time or a huge fine, and a stain on your record that could affect your ability to get a job or go to school.
Possession with the intent to distribute will be determined based on weight. A finding of greater than one ounce of marijuana or one gram of cocaine will take you from a simple possession charge to possession with intent to distribute.
Cocaine Trafficking: Depending upon the amount, penalties for trafficking less than one hundred grams:
First offense: three to ten years in prison and $25,000.00 in fines;
Second offense: five to thirty years in prison and a $50,000.00 fine
Third offense or subsequent offense: twenty five to thirty years in prison and a $50,000.00 fine.
Under Federal Law, anyone who uses, possesses, or carries a firearm during or in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime is subject to a five year mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment.
The Strom Law Firm Can Help with Trafficking, Gun, and Drug Charges in South Carolina
The criminal defense attorneys of the Strom Law Firm, LLC in Columbia, South Carolina, know the laws, court procedures and strategies used by government prosecutors to secure drug charges convictions, and can use that knowledge to defend your case and to help you avoid lengthy mandatory minimum sentences. We offer free, confidential consultations, so you can discuss the facts of your case with impunity. Contact us today. 803.252.4800.