LOCAL JAILER ALERTED ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ILLEGAL INMATE INVOLVEMENT
Earlier this week we reported extensively and exclusively on some bizarre developments related to a major gun bust in Chesterfield County, S.C. – which in recent year has been one of the most corrupt rural regions of the Palmetto State.
Here’s the nickel tour: Late last month, more than 10,000 guns were seized by representatives of local, state and federal law enforcement during a raid on a residence in Pageland, S.C.
The day after the raid (a Saturday), the local sheriff’s office sprung ten inmates from the local prison to help sort through the evidence … which included loaded weapons.
Yeah … while you ponder the insanity of that, also bear in mind this is the same county where an inmate labor scandal resulted in the last sheriff getting indicted. And where issues regarding the handling of evidence kept a savage killer from getting the justice he deserved.
Anyway, as we reported, the local jailer Sheila Gillespie was out-of-town on the Saturday and Sunday when her inmates were taken. Upon returning, though, she “raised holy hell” about the illegality of the process.
We’ve now obtained a copy of the memo she sent to S.C. attorney general Alan Wilson‘s office about the matter …
In the memo (.pdf page one, page two), dated November 4, Gillespie wrote that “inmates are not allowed to perform any work on private property.” She also wrote that “it is illegal for inmates to handle weapons and ammunition.”
Gillespie’s letter also confirms our original reporting that five of the ten inmates used to assist law enforcement in handling these seized weapons were “convicted felons.”
“There is no doubt that the acts that were committed on October 24th and 25th were criminal,” she concluded in her memo to Wilson.
As we reported previously, a spokesman for Wilson declined to comment on the case except to say their office received a letter from Gillespie – which is currently under review. Meanwhile the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) – which participated in the raid – has defended the use of the inmates, saying they “were under law enforcement supervision while moving the materials.”
Hmmm …
That’s not at all comforting … especially when you consider SLED would be the agency Wilson would call on in the event he felt Gillespie’s allegations were worth investigating.
Which they clearly are …
There are a ton of unanswered questions about this raid (including some disturbing conflicts of interest between local lawmen and prosecutors in the area), but one thing isn’t up for debate at this point: Law enforcement completely screwed the pooch in handling the evidence it obtained.
And there’s no telling how many criminal cases that could sabotage …
Oh well … at least we know South Carolina cops are working hard to protect us from dime bag dealing “drug dealers.”
21 comments
Keel is one lost puppet.
‘more than 10,000 guns’ — wondering where the “more” disappeared to, eh?
Judging from the photos of the guns that I’ve seen, I’d guess the only people who were in any danger from inmates handling them might be “…them dadgum revenooers…” or “…the farm boy who got my darlin’ daughter knocked up…”
Going a little Shakespearean, This is much ado about nothing.
Isn’t it possible for ammo left in a firearm, possibly in a room with no heat or air conditioning, to deteriorate and explode/ignite? My only experiences with ammo is limited to using fresh ammo that was opened and fired within an hour.
Meh, maybe in an extraordinary set of circumstances – modern smokeless powder (and modern explosives for that matter) is incredibly stable. I’ve pulled boxes of shotgun shells out of my go bag that have bounced around in the back of my SUV, the bed of my sons pickup and gotten kicked around the garage for years and shot them with no issue. Dynamite breaks down, the TNT will separate from the Fullers earth, and leak out leaving incredibly unstable liquid nitro laying in the bottom of your container. Black powder falls somewhere in between.
Most of those guns look like they’d be as much danger to the user as to anyone who they might be aimed at.
Black powder is what I was thinking of …
“inmate labor can be used for the common good.”
Da Comrade!
Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRa9uhiAPBs
Da! Da!
We are waiting for another astute comment from our old Chesterfield County and white trash pal, erneba. Come now boy we are waiting.
Sheriff’s, Chiefs, and law enforcement across South Carolina and the nation are losing their jobs and being arrested for less. Here in South Carolina, sled is a political investigation agency which keel and his corrupt agents are not criminally held accountable for acts like this.
Out of those inmates, how many have been banned from possessing firearms due to the crimes they have been convicted of?
What authority does sled, keel, chiefs and sheriffs have to ignore the law under the color of law and instruct inmates, unknown number of them that can not possess or carry firearms under South Carolina law and federal law?
And will the South Carolina attorney general, Alan Wilson going to bring charges against each and all law enforcement, including sled agents, who ignored their duty, in addition to state and federal laws in allowing those inmates that are prohibited from carrying or Possessing firearms and ammunition?
Watch yourself citizen. Law enforcement is above the law.
I will say right now that Alan Wilson or the Feds will do nothing about this but sweep it under the rug. Selective enforcement is corrupt enforcement! Especially in a case like this.
If anyone is interested in pursuing this, and shoving a hot poker up the guy’s asshole, have all firearms and ammo classified as “inventory” and hit him with property taxes.
The election was over. When the votes were counted, the results showed that Sherriff Brown had received three votes to the six hundred for his opponent. True to the tradition of the town, Sheriff
Brown resigned, but the morning after the votes were tabulated, he appeared in the street with six-guns on his hips and carrying a shotgun. A citizen said, “You’re not the sheriff anymore. You shouldn’t be carrying those guns.”
The sheriff said, “Anybody who’s as unpopular as I am had
better be ready to defend himself!”
Sheriff Bailey was a smart one. Because the jail was overcrowded, the food bill was up too high. The sheriff decided to visit the jailhouse and see whom he could release. As he started to walk down the cell block, prisoners started to clamor for mercy and understanding. No one was guilty of any crime. All were victims of mistaken identity or bad luck. Arriving at the last cell, the sheriff saw one man sitting back on his cot. The sheriff said, “What’s your story?”
The prisoner said, “I tried to rob a store and I was caught
red-handed.”
The sheriff turned to his deputy and said, “Release this man. He’s a bad apple, and we wouldn’t want him to contaminate all those good guys back there!”
Ha ha so true. Never meet a guilty man in my various visits to the County Jail. Used to work at a Concrete products plant that was so desperate for employees that they would recruit at 12:01 AM at the local prisons and jails for released inmates with no where to go. Housed and fed them in a concrete bunkhouse and turned them into indentured servants for all intents and purposes. Yeah, I worked around a lot of “normal” people at that place. Saw two former cellmates almost kill each other over a twinkie, it was ugly.
Taz, pull up on YouTube the film, “Island of Doomed Men” (1950) (b&w) (68 min) — it will be eerily familiar to you………
I believe that Ms. Gillespie is not intelligent enough to run the detention center. I would hope that the county council or administrator is concerned with her apparent lack of judgement.
Will, you seem to be trying to make an issue out of what appears to be a non-issue. The deputy’s brother being a deputy solicitor angle seems to be a non issue as well. Btw did you know Clemson is 9-0? I’ve apparently missed your “reporting” on this. That would be a great story for you. You won’t have to go out of your way to create a story.
SLED & The Richland County Sherriff Dept. have a well earned reputation for recycling drugs into the black community.
Might as well let Bret OUT TO handle his own guns!