11/10/2009
Seventeen Pee Dee Drug Suppliers Plead Guilty in Federal Court
COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney W. Walter Walkins announced today that 17 drug suppliers from the Pee Dee region of South Carolina pled guilty to their involvement in a drug conspiracy spanning the past decade and involving more than one hundred of kilograms of powder cocaine and crack cocaine. The group began entering guilty pleas last month, and the last plea was entered late last week.
Based upon their guilty pleas, the following men face mandatory minimum sentences of 20 years' imprisonment with a maximum possible penalty of life:
From Florence: NICHOLES KELLY CAIN, age 29; QUENTIN DAVID MORRIS, age 27; ANDRE LAVELLE WILLIAMS, age 34; SCOTTY BRIAN ANDERSON, age 27; LARRY MARTIN CAIN, age 37; MARCUS ALLEN MCCALL, age 22; DAREL TAREL MOUZON, age 22; and BRANDON LAFON ROBINSON, age 26.
From Hartsville: DELANTE RONZELL BYRD, age 37; and BRIAN DEWAYNE BROWN, age 36.
From Darlington: RODNEY BUSH, age 35; TAYRON FRANKLIN HINES, age 25; and VICTOR V. JAMES, age 34.
The remaining four defendants face sentences of 10 years' to life imprisonment: DARRYL DEMETRIA BOSTIC, age 35; ALLEN VALDOSTER FLEMING, age 20; and ROTRELIS LERREL BRUCE, age 25, all of Florence; and ROY DAVIS DRAUGHN, age 26, of Hemingway.
Evidence in the case consisted of undercover drug buys, seizures of drugs and money, and the testimony of other cooperating federal defendants, including gang members from Florence and Darlington counties who were supplied by the group. Assistant United States Attorney Rose Mary Parham, who is prosecuting the case, stated that after the men were arrested, state and federal agencies noted a dramatic decrease in the cocaine supply in Florence and Darlington Counties. According to Parham, “The case is yet another example of state and federal law enforcement agencies working together to have a tremendous impact on our community.”
The case was investigated by the Florence County Sheriff’s Office, the Florence Police Department, the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the United States Marshal’s Service.
http://columbia.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/2009/co110909.htm
