STATESBORO, GA: Eighteen defendants from the Laurens and Toombs County, Ga., area are in custody awaiting further legal proceedings after their initial court appearances from a 55-count drug trafficking indictment in U.S. District Court. Each of the 18 defendants is charged with Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute and...

WAYCROSS, Ga. – The lead defendant in a Waycross-area fentanyl and heroin trafficking operation has now pled guilty, joining the other five defendants who admitted their roles in the conspiracy. Eric Lashawn Hayes, a/k/a “Pee Wee,” 28, of Blackshear, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm...

BRUNSWICK, GA – A newly unsealed federal indictment charges 14 defendants in a South Georgia drug trafficking conspiracy alleged to have been directed from inside a Georgia state prison. The indictment in Operation Pope’s G.O.A.L., an Organized Crime Drug Trafficking Task Force investigation, alleges the drug trafficking conspiracy distributed methamphetamine...

FLORENCE, S.C. – Darryl Lamont McKenith, 33, of Aynor, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and fentanyl. Evidence presented to the court showed that McKenith was involved in a multi-year conspiracy to distribute...

NEW BERN, N.C. – Michael Hall, 34, of Duplin County, was sentenced to 180 months in prison for charges related to drug trafficking and firearms. Hall was convicted of the following charges: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a substance containing methamphetamine...

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Darryl Hemphill, 34, of Rock Hill, pled guilty in federal court to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Rock Hill Police Department began to investigate a group of defendants who were...

AUGUSTA, GA – Seven people have been indicted on charges related to a major methamphetamine-trafficking organization blamed for at least one overdose death. As described in the newly unsealed indictment in USA v. Wheatley et. al, the investigation in Operation Wheat Fields dates back to early 2018 and includes allegations...