SC man gets 30 years in prison for running meth, heroin ring near Indian Land school
A South Carolina man will spend the next 30 years in federal prison after meth, heroin and guns were found in a drug ring operating near Indian Land schools, according to prosecutors and court records.
Judge Sherri Lydon on Monday sentenced Shannon Layne Myers, 51, in Columbia federal court. Myers was a leader in a drug trafficking ring that operated in Lancaster and Kershaw counties, federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
There is no parole in the federal system.
In November 2019, Homeland Security federal agents and Lancaster County deputies found drugs and guns where Myers was living on Dobys Bridge Road in Indian Land, officials said.
The seizure of meth near three Indian Land schools was believed to be the largest-ever in Lancaster County, deputies said at the time. The law enforcement presence during that 2019 raid was so large school officials notified parents of the police actions nearby.
“Illegal drug trafficking rings like this jeopardize the health and safety of our community,” said Adair F. Boroughs, U.S. attorney for the District of South Carolina.
Myers was arrested again on more drug and gun charges in 2020 after he was released on bail following the 2019 arrests, officials said.
Myers, known in court documents as “Hambone,” was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to 11 felonies, according to prosecutors and federal court records. The charges were conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin, four counts of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine or heroin, three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
“He was even captured on video waiving a gun in front of drug customers, while weighing methamphetamine and counting money,” prosecutors said.
