3 men who dealt meth in Upstate SC drug ring sentenced to federal prison
Three Lancaster men prosecutors say were methamphetamine drug dealers in upstate South Carolina have been sentenced to federal prison.
The men were part of a drug distribution case investigated by Rock Hill police, Lancaster County deputies and federal Department of Homeland Security agents, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal court documents.
Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced John Matthew Railey, 36, to 12 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute methamphetamine, court records show. Police found almost an ounce of meth on Railey in a 2021 arrest in Lancaster, and he sold drugs to undercover police, prosecutors said.
Tyre Amahdikeem Brooks, 23, received nine years after he pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of meth. He was arrested in Lancaster and Rock Hill in 2020 and 2022 on drug and weapons charges, according to prosecutors.
Lewis sentenced Ricky Shane Underwood, 43, to six years prison after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of meth, court documents show. Police found drugs and guns when they arrested Underwood in 2021 and 2023, prosecutors said.
Meth is a powerful, highly addictive synthetic stimulant that affects the central nervous system, according to the U.S. government National Institute on Drug Abuse.
