Man from Vance Found with Several Drugs, As Well As Cash and Guns, Arrested on Drug Charges
Man from Vance Found with Several Drugs, As Well As Cash and Guns, Arrested on Drug ChargesOn Monday, June 24th, a man from Vance, SC was arrested at a traffic stop in Eutawville. When officers searched his car, they found a variety of drugs, as well as cash and guns. He was arrested on serious drug charges.
When an Orangeburg County investigator noticed a car parked in the middle of the road, the officer approached Wade Carson Harmon, Jr. The investigator found Harmon acting nervous. When checked for outstanding warrants, Harmon was found to be wanted in Dorchester County.
The officer searched Harmon, and found a bag of marijuana, a pipe, a container of meth, and $1,334 in cash. When he searched the car, he found, in addition to what the suspect was carrying, 35 grams of ground pseudoephedrine as well as 619 pseudoephedrine pills. Pseudoephedrine is the main ingredient when manufacturing methamphetamine. The car also contained a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun, a rifle, a pistol with a loaded magazine, two bags of meth, and various paraphernalia used in cooking methamphetamine as well as ingesting the drug.
One more bag of marijuana was found in Harmon’s shorts when he was taken to the Orangeburg-Calhoun Detention Center.
Harmon has received drug charges including manufacturing methamphetamines, possessing methamphetamine, intent to distribute, and blocking the roadway.
His bond hearing has been scheduled for Tuesday.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said, “Investigator Boyne was observant and aware of his surroundings and exhibited some fine field investigation skills to arrest Harmon and halt his criminal activity.”
Serious Drug Charges Are Made Worse When Guns Are Involved
The penalties for a drug trafficking conviction in South Carolina are severe. Your rights, freedom, and future are at stake.
Penalties for drug trafficking (depending upon the drug, the arrest, and your record) can include:
Trafficking Marijuana: more than ten pounds, but less than one hundred pounds
• First offense: One to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines;
• Five to 20 years in prison and $15,000 in fines for a second offense trafficking charge;
• 25 years in prison and $20,000 in fines for a third or subsequent offense.
If you are charged with trafficking over one hundred pounds of marijuana your possible conviction can result in up to 30 years in prison and $200,000 in fines.
The nature of your sentencing and punishment is greatly impacted if you are convicted of a drug crime and had possession of a fire arm, or if a gun is used during the time of the crime. A weapon offense can tack on years to any mandatory minimum sentencing. 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.
If you are convicted of carrying a firearm, five years will be added to your sentence and it may not be served consecutively with any other count.
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.
