York County man gets 19 years for trafficking fentanyl in 32nd conviction since new SC law
A York County man caught with a gun and fentanyl has been sentenced to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty.
Omari Janard Meeks, 20, admitted to trafficking fentanyl and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in court Monday at the Moss Justice Center. He is the 32nd fentanyl trafficking conviction in York County court since South Carolina enacted far tougher laws and sentence guidelines for the drug in June of 2023.
Politicians, law enforcement and prosecutors say the synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin is particularly dangerous because it is cheap, deadly and easily obtained on the street.
Meeks had 16 grams of fentanyl, and a gun tucked in his shoe, when arrested in October 2023, said prosecutor Kevin Bayona of the 16th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Police arrested him during surveillance for an unrelated assault and battery, Bayona said.
That amount of fentanyl, which is more than a half-ounce, carries a mandatory 25 years for a conviction under sentencing laws passed by the S.C. General Assembly last year. But before a trial started Monday, Meeks agreed to plead guilty to a lesser trafficking
Bayona negotiated a 19-year sentence for the drugs and gun with Meeks’ lawyer, Fred Davis of the York County Public Defender Office. Meeks had been on parole for a previous shooting conviction, Bayona said.
Judge Bill McKinnon accepted the deal and sentenced Meeks.
“People caught trafficking fentanyl in York County are going to face the consequences,” Bayona said after the plea.
Because fentanyl trafficking mandatory minimum sentences are “so harsh,” guilty pleas to a lesser charge in trafficking cases are often a result, Davis said after the case ended.
Traffickers targeted by prosecutors
The fentanyl trafficking law passed in 2023 with bipartisan political support. Any amount of fentanyl over 4 grams is considered trafficking in South Carolina.
York County police have brought 149 fentanyl trafficking cases to prosecutors since the law took effect last year, said Marina Hamilton, the prosecutor who leads the drug unit at the solicitor’s office. Many cases remain pending.
The solicitor’s office has five prosecutors assigned to drug crimes that include trafficking fentanyl, Hamilton said.
