FLORENCE, SOUTH CAROLINA —Brodus Bernard Gregg, 68, of Conway, South Carolina, was convicted next a two-working day jury demo in federal court for participating in an interstate cocaine trafficking conspiracy that operated for quite a few several years in the Pee Dee.
“Brodus Gregg and his co-conspirators introduced significant portions of cocaine from other states into South Carolina, and a jury has now held him accountable for his perform,” stated U.S. Attorney Corey F. Ellis. “We are grateful to the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office environment for their work in disrupting and dismantling this prison company. Together with our federal, condition, and community partners, we will continue on to prioritize the prosecution of all those who revenue off the lethal medication they pedal into our communities.”
“The mission of DEA is unwavering–we relentlessly pursue drug traffickers who distribute hazardous medicine like cocaine in our communities,” claimed Robert J. Murphy, the Exclusive Agent in Cost of the DEA Atlanta Industry Division. “These drugs cause immeasurable harm. DEA and its regulation enforcement companions are fully commited to shielding and serving these communities.”
“We are so appreciative of the partnerships that we have with Point out and Federal companies which resulted in a conviction for this case. We are grateful to the deputies who initiated this investigation and for their excellent operate,” reported Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt. “We will go on to do what we can to prevent the distribution of illegal narcotics by doing the job with our law enforcement partners and our local community.”
Evidence presented by the Authorities at trial established that beginning close to 2015, many drug dealers in the Conway and Myrtle Beach front space commenced shelling out Gregg concerning $1,000 and $1,500 to select up kilogram-quantities of cocaine and heroin from resources of supply in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Atlanta, Georgia, and drive the medicine back again to South Carolina, where they were being damaged down for even further distribution.
The existence of the conspiracy came to light for the duration of a court docket-approved wiretap conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration through the summer months of 2020, which intercepted communications from 3 concentrate on telephones that were being in call with dozens of drug sellers in the Pee Dee. Further more investigation into the interior workings of the prison business led agents to piece jointly that Gregg had earlier been caught in the course of a visitors stop carrying ½ kilogram of cocaine from Atlanta to Conway while on a drug resupply operate for the organization.
The proof showed that on October 9, 2019, at 8:19 p.m., two deputies from the Aiken County Sheriff’s Business office Interdiction Device stopped Gregg on the shoulder of Interstate 20 in the vicinity of Aiken based on a window tint violation. The sprint and system cameras from the stop confirmed that on coming into the Gregg’s determining data into a motor vehicle-mounted laptop, deputies learned that he had an superb warrant for an unrelated crime from Georgetown County. Deputies also walked a drug detection canine all over Gregg’s automobile in the course of the stop, and the canine indicated a constructive notify for narcotics.
When deputies tried to detain Gregg to research his vehicle, he ran and tried using to reenter his vehicle to flee. A roadside battle ensued for more than five minutes as dozens of passenger cars and business vehicles zoomed earlier them at freeway speeds less than 5 feet away. For the duration of this scuffle, the video captured Gregg telling the deputies that they will “have to get rid of him” to detain him.
Immediately after Gregg was detained, the deputies searched his vehicle and found 500.9 grams of cocaine. Immediately after being checked out by EMS roadside, Gregg admitted that he was providing the cocaine from an person in Atlanta to a further person in Conway. In the months that followed, he also admitted his role in the drug trafficking conspiracy to DEA agents.
At demo, Gregg testified that he did not know what he was transporting, and that he thought on an before situation he experienced transported magnificence supplies for a co-conspirator’s wife’s beauty salon. He stated that he fought the deputies because he felt intimidated during the site visitors end and accused agents of lying about the statements he gave for the duration of his interviews. A number of other users of the conspiracy who experienced earlier pled guilty testified as witnesses. They every single mentioned that Gregg understood that he was transporting cocaine, and that he experienced been executing so for them for many a long time. They reported the ½ kilogram of cocaine Gregg was transporting was really worth about $25,000.
The jury quickly returned a verdict of guilty.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon presided above the demo and will sentence Gregg right after receiving and examining a pre-sentence report that will be ready by the United States Probation Workplace. Gregg faces a penalty of 5 to 40 several years in federal jail and a wonderful of $1,000,000. He also faces at the very least 4 decades of court docket-requested supervision immediately after jail.
The situation was investigated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Aiken County Sheriff’s Business office. Assistant United States Attorneys Everett McMillian, Guide Job Power Legal professional for the Structured Crime and Drug Enforcement Job Drive (OCDETF), and Katie Stoughton, who serves as the Main of the Office’s Appellate Division, prosecuted the scenario. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the best-level drug traffickers, cash launderers, gangs, and transnational legal organizations that threaten the United States by working with a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency technique that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and area legislation enforcement organizations towards criminal networks.
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