Eight members of an Aiken County drug conspiracy pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to conspiracy to possess meth and heroin with intent to distribute.
United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced the guilty pleas came from Kristie Scott Wise, aka “Kristie Wise Scott,” Brian William Rose, Casey Kohler, Ricardo Dunbar, James Clinton Gunter Jr., Joseph Price Langford, Scott Dylan Green and Kerrie Edgerley.
United States District Judge J. Michelle Childs of Columbia accepted the pleas and said she will impose sentence after she has received and reviewed pre-sentence reports. The reports will be prepared by the United States Probation Office.
Evidence presented in court established the Drug Enforcement Administration initiated an investigation into the narcotics distribution activities of co-defendants Kenneth Evans and Eddie Brockington, according to a release.
Through controlled purchases and other investigative techniques, agents learned that members of the conspiracy purchased and distributed large amounts of methamphetamine and/or heroin for Evans and Brockington. Some of the individuals charged were responsible for transporting multi-kilogram amounts of methamphetamine and heroin into South Carolina and then distributing the drugs throughout the state, the release states.
Evans is an inmate with the South Carolina Department of Corrections and Brockington is an inmate with the Georgia Department of Corrections.
The maximum penalty for the offenses of these eight is imprisonment for life and/or a fine of $20 million.
The case was investigated by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.
Assistant United States Attorney William K. Witherspoon of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case.
