Career criminal gets 20 years in jail

A career criminal accused of trafficking in cocaine was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday.

Johnny Lamont Frazier, of 417 Palm Drive in Aiken, pleaded guilty to a myriad of crimes from two separate incidents that happened in early 2009. His offenses included trafficking in powder cocaine (second offense), possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, resisting arrest and unlawful conduct toward a child.

Second Circuit Solicitor Strom Thurmond Jr. thanked the Aiken Department of Public Safety, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office and Assistant Solicitor Beth Ann Young for "putting together a strong case that resulted in a substantial sentence for a career criminal."

In January, Frazier was part of a traffic stop in which the sheriff's office discovered more than 14 grams of powder cocaine. Along with the drugs, other items consistent with drug dealing and packaging were discovered, including a hand-mixer and two measuring cups, both with drug residue, and a set of scales.

Frazier ran from police at the scene and was pursued. An attempt to use a Taser was ineffective, so officers had to physically subdue him.

The second incident happened in March, when work by ADPS officers investigating complaints about drug dealing by Frazier led to a significant result.

As part of monitoring the defendant's Palm Drive home, ADPS had Public Works pull Frazier's trash, according to Young.

In that trash, police found a dry-cleaning receipt with the Frazier's name on it as well as other items consistent with a child living in the residence and evidence of the distribution of drugs, including torn plastic baggies.

A field test kit showed evidence of cocaine residue. As a result, a search warrant was sworn out. The subsequent search found the defendant lying on his couch wearing only boxer shorts. However, under him were a pair of jeans with an eyeglass case in the pocket. The case held 34.43 grams of a white, rock-like substance that tested positive for crack cocaine.

Also inside were numerous items consistent with distribution of drugs. In the master bedroom, two minors and a female were found. A gun and some loosely packaged pills (alprazolam) were discovered in a drawer in that room. Because the pills were in reach of the children, Frazier was charged with unlawful conduct towards a child.

Until Wednesday, Frazier had claimed the jeans were not his; however, Judge Doyet A. "Jack" Early presided over a suppression of evidence hearing. Early denied the defense's request to disallow the jeans from evidence.

The dry-cleaning receipt found in the trash matched a tag still pinned to the pants Frazier was lying. ADPS took the receipt to the dry-cleaners, who confirmed that the items had been laundered for Frazier.

After the attempt to exclude the jeans failed Wednesday, Frazier pleaded guilty and was sentenced.

"The Aiken Department of Public Safety deserves special recognition. They went above and beyond to confirm that these were his pants, to make sure this was a thorough investigation. We are very pleased to wrapup this case," said Young, the solicitor's office's major drug prosecutor.

Frazier has a long criminal history including drug and firearms charges dating back more than a decade. Categorized as "serious" offenses, the trafficking charges mandate 85 percent of the sentence be completed before the convict is considered for parole.

Contact Mike Gellatly at mgellatly@aikenstandard.com.