Meth ring suspects in court today

March 29, 2006

By VIC MacDONALD
Index-Journal regional editor

Prosecutors are preparing for court appearances in the criminal cases involving 30 people implicated in a methamphetamines ring alleged to have imported the illegal drug from Mexico into Greenwood County.
Eighth Circuit Solicitor Jerry Peace said some defendants, arrested in December, have been through the indictment process. Others haven’t because “there are 800 cases in front of them,” Peace said.
The defendants whom Peace called “the two big guys,” brothers Harold and Daniel Stanley, are at the Abbeville County Detention Center under $500,000 bonds.
Authorities said the meth import ring was headed by the Stanley brothers, who are alleged to have brought their daughters into their “family business” operated from 806 Montague Ave. in Greenwood.
Peace said the solicitor’s office has a two-step process for criminal defendants: an initial appearance and a docket appearance. The Stanleys have had their initial appearance but not the docket appearance that can set the case for trial.
Mike Frederick, Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy, said the Stanleys are scheduled for a preliminary hearing today in Greenwood County Magistrate’s Court.
One of the hold-ups in processing the cases is having attorneys appointed for all the defendants, Peace said.
He said some of the defendants with lesser charges have pleaded guilty but “nothing of significance.”
Local authorities said at the time of the meth suspects’ roundup, dubbed “Operation Family Tree,” that dealers brought in 150 pounds of the drug from Mexico and through two other states for sale in the county.
People busted included an elementary school nurse, a promotions writer, a restaurant kitchen manager and others more typically associated with the drug trade. Frederick said these “others” had “no visible means of support, jewelry, big TVs.”
One of the meth bust suspects, 17-year-old Casey Stanley, allowed authorities to use her “before” prom photo and “after” booking photo to demonstrate the decimating effects that highly addictive meth can have on a person.
The prom photo shows a bright, smiling young woman; the booking photo shows a hollow-eyed older-than-her-years woman.
The photos “very clearly demonstrate what we’re up against,” Sheriff Dan Wideman said in December.
Frederick said that early in the next week following the main Dec. 16 roundup of the meth ring suspects, the sheriff’s office netted the remaining people against whom it had arrest warrants. Those arrests brought the total number of people rounded up for meth possession and distribution and other drug charges to 30, with $50,000 in cash, a cache of guns and 150 pounds of meth seized.
Evidence was turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration to work cases in two other states and Mexico. Frederick declined to comment on the ongoing DEA investigation, saying “these federal cases take years to go up the system.”
Since the meth ring bust in December, Cornerstone, the regional drug awareness agency, has sponsored meth information seminars in Greenwood and McCormick featuring a DEA agent teaching first responders and the public about meth dangers.
Greenwood County authorities said at the time of the bust that they suspected drug importation activities. They said the number of “home-cooking” meth labs was low in Greenwood County but there was a large amount of the drug available on the street.
Officials said they expected the dismantling of the meth importation ring to restrict the amount of the drug available to users. But just this past weekend, a house fire in Hodges turned up what a sheriff’s office report called “suspicious paperwork,” providing directions about how to make meth.
Frederick said the investigation into that fire has been closed, with no drug charges filed.
“It was an isolated guy. It was accidental, a heating fire,” he said. “We did find some meth information. This was a guy who made small batches of meth. Our lab seizures are well down. We are not getting the manufacturing labs like we used to.”
Fighting what it terms the “plague” of meth, South Carolina Meth Watch is part of the first national effort aimed at curbing meth and providing “a critical step in reducing the availability in communities nationwide,” according to the South Carolina Attorney General’s Web site.
Begun in Kansas, the program asks retailers to report suspicious sales and thefts of common household products used in the manufacturing of meth. The program is voluntary for retailers.
According to the Web site drugs-rehabs.org, “North Carolina leads the East Coast in illegal meth labs, and South Carolina is quickly catching up.” The Web site says 126 S.C. residents sought treatment for meth addiction in 2000. In 2004, the number was up to 500, and that excluded meth users who seek treatment at private facilities.

Rising up the Class A rankings

At No. 4, the Dixie boys soccer team wants to be among the elite in S.C.

March 29, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

DUE WEST — The Dixie High School boys soccer team is ready to take a step into the upper echelon of Class A squads in South Carolina.
The Hornets have gotten off to a stellar 9-2 start, a mark has been good enough to earn the team a No. 4 ranking in Class A.
“Even though we lost some key guys from last year, I felt like we had a pretty good group coming back,” Dixie coach Brian Gamble said. “There’s a long way to go, but we feel pretty good about what we’ve done so far.”
Dixie has been well-represented in soccer for several years. The team went 16-5 last season, though it fell to Southside Christian in the second round of the state playoffs. The Hornets exacted a modicum of revenge for that defeat by knocking off Southside Christian, 4-1, March 7.
“We feel like that might have helped us get over the hump just a little bit,” Gamble said. “They knocked us out of the Upper State playoffs last season, so it was good for the guys that we were able to beat them this season.”
In fact, Gamble said he has been impressed with the way the Hornets have played in every game this season —except one. Dixie fell to Academic Magnet, the top-ranked team in Class A, 8-1 on March 10. Gamble said while the trip to Charleston for the game was worthwhile — the team toured Charleston and made a field trip event out of it — he thinks the Hornets didn’t respond to the challenge Academic Magnet offered.
The team has responded to the coach’s criticism, winning four of five games since. Part of the formula that has led to the success is the offensive performance of senior forward Eric Gladden. According to Gamble, Gladden has been a catalyst to the Hornets.
“Eric was all-state last year, and he’s just a great athlete,” Gamble said. “He was the quarterback on the football team this past year, and he did a good job there, too. He’s one of our leaders.”
The coach pointed to Jake Chapman, Diomi Gordon and Ben Guyette as three of the team’s better defenders. Gamble said the team has done a good job overall this season in staying aggressive on both the offensive and defensive end.
Another key cog in Dixie’s gears has been goalkeeper Christian Kay. Kay has come up big throughout the season, denying opponent’s shots more often than not.
Kay saved three shots in a 5-0 win over inner-county rival Abbeville March 22, and had one of his best games against Class AAA Belton-Honea Path March 15, turning back eight shots in a 2-1 Dixie win.
“Christian just has so much confidence,” Gamble said. “He is not afraid to come out of the net and take on people one-on-one. Some keepers are afraid to do that. Not Christian. He played football, too, and I think that helps with his aggressiveness.”
Gamble lauded the efforts of jayvee coach Paul Prescott. Gamble said the jayvee program is extremely important at Dixie because the majority of the players do not play club soccer, which is popular among high school players from larger cities. In fact, only one player out of the more than 40 in Dixie’s varsity and jayvee programs plays club soccer.
“That’s why the jayvee development is so key for us,” Gamble said. “Paul does a great job getting them into the basics in jayvee. We’ll work on the game situation stuff when the get up to varsity level.”
According to Gamble, the Hornets have enjoyed several solid home crowds at games this year, including particularly good crowd for the game against Abbeville. The coach said the student body and community have always been strong in their support of the program.
As the regular season rolls along, the Hornets are already looking at what lies ahead.
“We’ll need to raise our level of play as the postseason gets near,” Gamble said. “We’d love to get a number two seed for the playoffs, as I know Christ Church will have a leg up on the number one seed. Our guys are focused on taking at to the next level this year.”

Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com

Opinion

Protests by illegal aliens can only create protests

March 29, 2006

Getting better control of the nation’s borders in an attempt to control illegal immigration has been a subject of debate for some time. Still, there’s no answer to the obvious problem, one that affects South Carolina as much as it affects any other state ..... and it affects all in the continental United States.
Meanwhile, as the immigration issue headed to a Capitol showdown in Washington, D.C., immigrants by the thousands took to the streets around the country to protest.
There are so many different proposals on what to do to address the problem, it’s difficult to project if anything substantive will be done.

IT HAS BECOME SUCH A BIG problem, though, unless something is improved, it’s highly likely that the American people will eventually demand solutions of some kind. It could be anything from outright amnesty for those already here, to a combination of changes or total deportation.
Many of the immigrants have people in this country rooting for them, including many South Carolinians. They know immigrants are only seeking better lives ... at least most of them. Some are gang members and troublemakers, possible terrorists, drug smugglers and the like. They are the reason controls are needed. Yes, many fill jobs that Americans refuse. Yes, some employers take advantage of them and cause problems themselves by hiring illegals for low wages ..... wages some are happy to quietly accept for fear of being deported if they object.
It’s a many-sided problem all around, of course, but one that demands a solution for the good of everyone concerned ... and that’s all of us.

ONE THING THAT DEFINITELY will not help immigrants or their cause, though. While marching in protest this week - in several American cities - they marched and held high the flag of Mexico, not Old Glory.
In fact, many of them waved the Mexican flag as they marched. Nothing, perhaps, can hurt their cause more than that. That act of protest was sure to rub Americans the wrong way ... even many of those who support the immigrants in one way or another. If they want to work or stay in America, showing allegiance to Mexico while protesting in and against the laws of the United States only adds to the problems already there. It should. That’s no way to seek acceptance, especially by those who are here illegally in the first place.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.

Obituaries

Ed Brooks

Horace E. “Ed” Brooks, 78, of 210 McKee Road, widower of Sara Elise McGee Brooks, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at University Hospital, Augusta, GA.
Born in Honea Path, he was a son of the late Horace L. and Annie Mae Hart Brooks. He was formerly employed by Synthetic Compound, Greenwood Mills and Greenwood Packing Plant. He was a World War II Navy veteran, a member of South Greenwood Church of God and attended Faith Harvest Church of God, Calhoun Falls.
Survivors include a daughter, Lessia B. Crosby of Greenwood; a son, Jerry Craig Brooks of Hodges; a sister, Kathryn Lyerley of Callison; three brothers, Wayne Brooks, Barney Brooks and Leon Brooks, all of Callison; four grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Services are 2 p.m. Thursday at Harley Funeral Home Chapel, conducted by the Rev. Michael Ford. Burial is in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Visitation is 5-7 at the funeral home.
The family is at the home.
Harley Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.harleyfuneralhome.com

Katie Mae Covington

Services for Katie Mae Bowman Covington are 2 p.m. Friday at Morris Chapel Baptist Church, conducted by the Rev. Curtis Bowman, assisted by the Rev. Johnathan Greene. Burial is in Springfield Baptist Church Cemetery, Edgefield. The body will be placed in the church at 1.
Pallbearers are Johnny F. Covington, Demetric Cowan, Ernest J. Wright, Quincy Allen, Ricky Harrison, Kendrick Allen and Jackie Neal.
Flower bearers are Tammy Allen, Cheryl Wells, Cokeythy Harrison, Zandrea Thomas, Kalisha Thomas, Erica Covington, Wyshondia Rapp, Ciara Moss, Valerie Moss, Keana Washington, Frances Yeldell, Ann Callaham and Shannon Hamilton.
The family is at the home of daughters Brenda Wright, 122 South University St. and Hazel Hackett, 219-A Coleman Terrace. Visitation is at the daughters’ homes Thursday.
Robinson & Son Mortuary is in charge.

Esther Free

GREENWOOD — Esther Thomas Free, 83, resident of 808 Willard Road, widow of James C. Free, died March 28, 2006 at Hospice House of the Piedmont.
Born in Ware Shoals, December 4, 1922, she was a daughter of the late Eber H. and Ada Bragg Thomas. She was a graduate of Greenwood High School and attended Lander College. She was a member of St. Mark United Methodist Church and was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Mary Pinckney Ouzts Chapter.
Mrs. Free was twice married, first to the late Marcus C. Willard, Jr. She was predeceased by five brothers, Eber H. Thomas, Jr., Miles Pinckney Thomas, Ed Lloyd Thomas, Oliver Luther Thomas and James Barnwell Thomas. Two sisters, Edna Thomas and Sarah Thomas and a stepdaughter, Mary Free Chandler.
Surviving are two sons, Mark C. Willard, III and Dr. Oliver T. Willard, both of Greenwood; two daughters, Lisa W. Emily of Greenwood and Rita W. Shutran of Utica, MI; a sister, Rhita Pickens of Greenwood and a brother, H.C. Thomas of Waterloo; a step-son, George “Bubba” Free of Greenwood; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 AM Thursday at Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Phillip Howle officiating.
Burial will be in Bethlehem Cemetery in Coronaca.
Pallbearers will be Dr. Chris Griffin, Dr. Eddie Thomas, Tim Parnell, David Parnell, Chris Pickens, Mike Thomas, Ben Griffin and John Griffin.
Honorary escort will be Helen Stathakas, Virginia Anagnost, Ruby Benjamin and Virginia Eck.
The family is at the home of her son, Dr. Oliver Willard, 716 Willard Road and will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Wednesday.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, PO Box 658, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY

Ida Mae Moss

McCORMICK — Ida Mae Speed Moss, widow of Arnold Moss, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood, after a short illness.
Born in McCormick County, she was a daughter of the late James and Pearl Speed. She was a member of Springfield/Green Olive A.M.E. Church.
Survivors include three daughters, Mrs. Theodore (Viola) Turman, Lorene Turman and Annie Lee Moss, all of Willington; a son, Curtis Moss of Greenwood; a sister, Dr. Pauline Speed McIntire of Seattle; four brothers, Isaac Speed and Ralph Speed of Chicago, Rev. Jonathan Speed of Herndon, Va. and Byron Moss of N.C.; 24 grandchildren; 49 great-grandchildren.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Annie Lee Moss, Willington.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home.

Daryl Parks

HOUSTON — Daryl Parks, 41, of Houston, husband of Bellene Parks, died Monday, March 27, 2006 at his home.
Born in New Orleans, he was a son of the late Tecola Parks. He lived in Houston a short while and was of the Baptist faith.
Survivors include his wife of Houston; three daughters, LaKeisha Parks, Dione Parks and Danielle Parks, all of Houston; a brother, Bruce Parks of Abbeville, S.C.
The family is at the home of an aunt, Arzella Freeman, Bentley Subdivision, McCormick, S.C.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home, McCormick.

Mary Pinson

GREENWOOD — Mary Ella Reeder Pinson, 90 years of age, widow of William Henry Pinson, passed into Heaven March 27, 2006. She was born in Cross Hill, SC, June 27, 1915, the daughter of the late Wister and Ella Chaney Reeder. She was the last member of her immediate family.
She was a former resident of 3H-Hampton House in Greenwood, SC. Mrs. Pinson was a member of Jordon Memorial Baptist Church and the TEL Sunday School Class.
To her family she was known by “Grandma” and a devoted “Grandma” she was. Her Heavenly Home going leaves us with many memories of good times together. “Grandma” was a great seamstress and enjoyed sewing for her family and friends. She retired from Self Memorial Hospital.
She is survived by one son, Roy Mills Pinson and wife, Christine of Greenwood; a daughter, Thelma Pinson Burbage of Cross Hill; a daughter-in-law, Frances Pinson Nations of Waterloo. She was predeceased by a son, William Walter Pinson and a son-in-law, Perry Burbage. Mrs. Pinson has ten grandchildren; twenty-one great-grandchildren and one great-great grandchild.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3 pm Thursday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with her grandson, Rev. Billy Pinson officiating.
Burial will be in Liberty Springs Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Cross Hill.
Pallbearers will be grandsons.
Honorary escort will be Jordan Memorial friends and members of Magnolia Manor staff along with special friends, Robin and Steve Seigler, Barry and Pat Gunnells, George and Sharon Elrod and Jenny Rothrock.
The family is at the home of her granddaughter, Janice and John DeVore, 104 Chauncy Court, Queens Court in Hunters Creek in Greenwood.
The body is at Blyth Funeral Home where the family will receive friends from 2 to 3 Thursday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to Jordan Memorial Baptist Church, 1515 Durst Ave. East, Greenwood, SC 29649, Magnolia Manor, 1415 Parkway, Greenwood, SC 29646 or to the charity of one’s choice.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Pinson family.
PAID OBITUARY

Dejuan Montre Sanders

ABBEVILLE — Dejuan Montre Sanders (affectionately known as “Dee” and “Big D”), 31, of 691 Watts Road, Abbeville died Saturday, March 25, 2006 in McCormick County.
Born in Abbeville to the parentage of Deborah Gail Sanders and Johnny M. Martin. He was a 1993 graduate of Abbeville High School and a member of the 1991 AA Championship Football Team. He later received an Associate Degree in Business Administration from Piedmont Technical College.
He was a member of Shady Grove A.M.E. Church.
He was employed as a Conductor for CSX Transportation.
Survivors include his mother of the home and his father of Sumter, SC. One sister, Deadrian Martin of Hammonds Louisiana, one brother, Johnathan Martin of Tyler, Texas. His paternal grandmother, Clara Martin of Abbeville. Two special aunts, Thelma Woody of the home and Karen Cromer of Macon, Georgia. Three special uncles, Roscoe (Winnie) Douglas of Abbeville, Curtis (Carolyn) Martin of Augusta, Georgia, and James (Renee) Martin of Stockbridge, Georgia.
Funeral services will be conducted 1 p.m. Thursday at Shady Grove A.M.E. Church with Rev. Robert Johnson, Rev. J. J. Robinson, Rev. J. R. Jackson, Rev. James Leverette and Rev. Mary Paul. The body will be placed in the church at 12 noon.
The family will receive friends on Wednesday, March 29, 2006 from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Mortuary.
Pallbearers are the Class of 1993 and Friends. Honorary Pallbearers are CSX Transportation.
Flower bearers are the Class of 1993 and Friends.
Interment will be in the church cemetery.
The family is at the home.
Abbeville & White Mortuary, Inc. is in charge of arrangements.
PAID OBITUARY