Court date rescheduled in drug case against former Chester County, SC supervisor
Editors note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Shane Stuart pleaded guilty to charges against him. This story has been updated to correct that error.
The criminal drug case against Shane Stuart has been rescheduled, officials said Wednesday.
Kenneth “Shane” Stuart was the top elected official in Chester County until he was arrested and charged in 2020 with meth trafficking and other violations. He was in court Wednesday morning for a scheduled hearing at the Chester County Courthouse. However, the hearing was canceled before it started.
Margaret Self, clerk of the South Carolina state grand jury, said at the courthouse that South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Eugene Griffith approved Stuart’s motion to seek new defense counsel.
Griffith gave Stuart until Nov. 12 to hire a new or additional lawyer.
The case remains pending. Stuart has been free on bail with an electronic ankle bracelet since about two weeks after his arrest. He remains free on bond.
The charges
Stuart, 48, was Chester County Supervisor from 2015 until his arrest in September 2020. He was suspended from office the day he was arrested.
Stuart, a former Chester County sheriff’s deputy and military veteran, was indicted by a South Carolina grand jury in September 2020 on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, manufacturing meth, conspiracy, and misconduct in office.
Prosecutors with the attorney general said previously in court that Stuart used county vehicles to avoid police detection while dealing drugs in Chester and York counties.
Indictments from the state grand jury obtained by The Herald allege that Stuart trafficked more than 400 grams of meth in one case, and manufactured meth in two other charges. He also is accused of dealing drugs while in his county vehicle during work hours. He also is charged with conspiring with others to steal catalytic converters from Chester County trucks.
Stuart was elected in 2015, defeating longtime supervisor Carlisle Roddey. He was re-elected in 2018 to a four-year term. Gov. Henry McMaster suspended Stuart after his arrest and appointed former court magistrate Wylie Frederick as interim county supervisor.
This story was originally published October 20, 2021 at 11:32 AM.
