20 people were arrested as the result of an undercover operation aimed at curbing a recent uptick in violent crime in West Columbia.
This item is available in full to subscribers.
Please log in to continueNeed an account?
|
20 people were arrested as the result of an undercover operation aimed at curbing a recent uptick in violent crime in West Columbia.
The effort, which started last year, found the local police department working with multiple local, state and federal agencies, using a piece of repurposed city property to help them in the undercover operation.
“We recently came across an old abandoned tow yard that we purchased as a city for an expansion of some city services and office buildings and parking,” Boyce said at a Dec. 14 press conference, noting that when they began looking at the problems they were having crime wise and how the property could be leveraged to help, they put those plans on hold.
“They turned that city on property over to the ATF and we've been successfully running a year-long undercover operation out of that property.”
Boyce said that the city began seeing an increase in gun violence and gun crime two or three years ago, spurring the operation that also looped in the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Homeland Security Investigations.
“We started an evidence-based, data-driven approach to law enforcement and how we were responding to some of these shooting incidents that we were experiencing,” Boyce said of their response to the escalation in gun crime, noting the installation of new technology, including the ShotSpotter system to quickly identify the location of shots fired and camera at various locations.
This approach, the chief said, led them to each out to the ATF about going after targeted individuals.
The resulting operation, the first of its kind for West Columbia, was intended to curb the illegal use and sale of narcotics and firearms.
“Federal agents purchased or seized 210 firearms, including several machine gun conversion devices or ‘switches’ designed to convert a firearm to a fully automatic weapon, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Additionally, law enforcement purchased or seized approximately 12 kilograms of methamphetamine, 500 grams of powder cocaine, 500 grams of powder fentanyl, 280 grams of crack cocaine, 2,826 fentanyl pills, and over 2,100 polydrug pills,” a release states.
Adair Boroughs, U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, praised the commitment of time, resources and manpower that the participating agencies made to the effort.
“Our communities are safer today because of the work of these agencies up here before you. We are very excited to announce the results of a significant violent crime reduction effort in West Columbia,” she said.
Brian Mein, assistant special agent for the ATF’s Charlotte Field Division, said they kicked off the operation in October 2022, though discussion started in September, adding that the bulk of the operation lasted until August of this year. Mein added that the brunt of the arrests happened within the last 30 days, with a portion occurring in June.
“We identified who we are investigating, scientifically and intelligence based, everything is objective,” Mein said. “We're not targeting anyone based on a particular gang that they're in. We're not targeting any one particular neighborhood that they’re in. We're targeting them based on intelligence that we have and science behind what we're doing. And that's exactly what we did with this investigation.”
According to the release, some of the defendants were charged together. The release states that defendants include members of the Bloods, Crips and Gangster Disciple street gangs.
The following defendants were charged in U.S. District Court as a result of the operation:
“The South Carolina Attorney General’s Office is handling the prosecution of additional defendants facing state charges related to this investigation,” the release states. “The federal cases stemming from this investigation are being prosecuted by a team of Assistant United States Attorneys in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, led by Assistant United States Attorney Elle E. Klein.”
Other items that may interest you
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here