Man who had 987 fentanyl pills, shot at Lancaster police pleads guilty.
A Lancaster man who shot at deputies during an arrest for dealing fentanyl and cocaine has been sentenced to 15 years in a South Carolina prison, according to prosecutors and court records.
Lareckius Jaron Price, 30, shot at Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team officers and drug agents during a search in February 2019, 6th Circuit Assistant Solicitor Melissa McGinnis said. Officers seized 987 fentanyl pills, 39 grams of crack cocaine, 14 grams of cocaine and four guns, including an assault rifle, McGinnis said.
The officers were not hit by the gunfire, prosecutors and deputies said. Price pleaded guilty to eight felony charges, records show.
Price must serve at least 85 percent of the 15-year sentence before he eligible for release, McGinnis said.
“The sentence sends a message that violence against our police officers in Lancaster County won’t be tolerated,” McGinnis said. “The community can sleep safer knowing that all these drugs, guns, and this violent offender are off the streets.”
Pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic opioid pain reliever that is 50-100 times more potent than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control website.
Price pleaded guilty to two counts of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and one count of drug trafficking crack cocaine under an Alford plea, court sentencing sheets from the Lancaster County Clerk of Court Office show. In an Alford plea a defendant concedes he would likely be found guilty if the case went to trial, but is not required to admit guilt, according to court officials.
Price also pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine, two other felony drug distribution charges, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and felony child neglect, according to prosecutors and court records. Minor children were in the home at the time of the incident, McGinnis said.
