Rock Hill man sentenced to 20 years in drug case tied to California, Rock Hill, Charlotte
A Rock Hill man will spend 20 years in federal prison after being convicted in a multi-state drug trafficking case.
Darrell Lemonte Crockett, 51, was sentenced in a case that began with 18 defendants, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Carolina. Crockett and two other defendants were found guilty by jury trial. Two more defendants remain to be sentenced, and 15 others pleaded guilty to their roles in the case.
According to a release from the attorney’s office, the York County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unity and FBI investigated a group of people who received cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana from a California distributor. Group members were flying to California and having drugs shipped back to Rock Hill and Charlotte, according to prosecutors.
Crockett was part of that group, according to the attorney’s office, and was involved in shipping drugs to Rock Hill and Charlotte. Members of the group, including Crockett, distributed drugs to local dealers in South Carolina, according to the attorney’s office.
The group later ordered fentanyl from California to lace pills that were sold in Rock Hill, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte and Atlanta, according to the attorney’s office. Law enforcement officials found the group shipped more than 250 packages from California and distributed more than five kilograms of cocaine and at least 280 grams of crack cocaine, 500 grams of methamphetamine, 400 grams of fentanyl, a kilogram of heroin and 1,000 grams of marijuana.
Crockett was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute for cocaine, crack cocaine and a mixture containing fentanyl. Crockett also was convicted of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in a separate drug deal at another group member’s home.
The 240-month sentence will be followed by five-years of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
In addition to the drug task force and FBI, participating agencies in the investigation include the Rock Hill Police Department and York County Sheriff’s Office.
