Out of prison less than a month, York Co. drug dealer charged again for selling meth

Convicted York County drug dealer Randy Cornelio was released from a South Carolina prison Oct. 6 after dealing meth.

Cornelio was arrested again Tuesday for selling methamphetamine after police said he had the drugs, cash and packaging materials at a motel near a school in York.

If convicted, Cornelio could face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison because it is his third meth offense, records show.

Cornelio, 30, was charged Tuesday with distribution of meth third offense, possession of drugs second offense and distribution of drugs near a school, police and jail records show.

York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit and York Police Department officers on Tuesday raided the motel room on U.S. 321 near York Intermediate School around noon, said Lt. Mike Ligon of the drug unit.

Officers had a search warrant for the room after a narcotics investigation by both agencies, police said.

Police found Cornelio with more than 9 grams of meth, other drugs, more than $1,000 in cash, and materials used to package and distribute drugs, Ligon said.

Cornelio was one of 11 people arrested in a drug sweep in March in western York County. He stayed in jail without bond until he pleaded guilty in June to distribution of meth.

He was sentenced to five years for that June conviction, but the sentence was suspended to a year in prison, court records show.

Cornelio was released from the South Carolina Department of Corrections earlier this month with credit for time served, officials said.

He also has a meth possession conviction from 2017 when he pleaded guilty and served 90 days in the York County jail.

Cornelio is being held at the York County jail on the current charges on a $62,000 bond.