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CRIME & COURTS

South Carolina Jail Saga: Charges Filed Against Detainees

Our reporting prompted “reactive” shakedown at jail…

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Two detainees in a rural South Carolina jail have been charged with possession of contraband following FITSNews’ exclusive publication of social media content filmed within the Darlington County detention center.

Our media outlet brought the Snapchat posts of accused murderers Quinton McLeroy Jr. and Jameare Lorenzo Jr. to the attention of Darlington County sheriff James Hudson earlier this month.

McLeeroy could be seen throwing Blood gang signs on the video while awaiting trial for the murder of 16-year–old student Si’dreek Maurice Player. The murder took place last October – just one week before Player was set to earn his Graduate Equivalency Degree (GED).

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Dorchester SC detainee
(Provided)

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Lorenzo, the other detained social media user, shared a video of himself smoking what appears to be a joint as he awaits trial for allegedly killing 18-year-old Roxianne Smith in a Valentine’s Day shooting. Smith, of Hartsville, S.C., left behind a two-month old baby.

Sources familiar with the operation of the detention center have reported that the facility often reeks of marijuana. These same sources informed FITSNews that sheriff Hudson conducted a shakedown of the facility the morning after our original report was published.

Shane Rashard Brown

This search found multiple contraband items, according to our sources, including the cell phone which presumably was used to create the posts.

A search of Shane Rashard Brown‘s cell allegedly resulted in the confiscation of two shanks, psychedelic infused chocolates, half a prescription pill and a cell phone.

Brown was charged with furnishing contraband and with concealing a weapon as an inmate. The new charges add to his extensive rap-sheet, which includes allegations of domestic violence, burglary, neglect and assaulting a police officer.

Lorenzo was also charged with furnishing contraband. It’s unclear whether materials were found in his possession, or if the charges were based on the video provided to this news outlet.

FITSNews’ inquiries to the the Darlington County sheriff’s office seeking clarification on the situation have seemingly fallen on deaf ears. When we first reached out to Hudson regarding the videos, we received a reply from chief deputy Chad McInville, who requested copies of the posts.

When our sources informed us of Hudson’s shakedown of the facility – and the reported discovery of weapons, drugs and a contraband phone – we reached out to McInville to confirm the accuracy of the information we’d received, which wasn’t yet publicly available.

We’re still waiting for a reply to that email…

Hudson
James Hudson Jr.

Reporters working for the Pee Dee’s legacy media affiliates have had an easier time getting in touch with Hudson himself. As reporter Tonya Brown noted, “two inmates at the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center in Darlington posted a Snapchat video with one of them even smoking something, all from their jail cell.”

“Some people have questioned if the jail is under control and what’s being done to keep out contraband,” Brown added.

Those people include this author, who is still awaiting a response from Hudson.

“They do shakedowns at the jail on a weekly basis,” the sheriff told Brown. “And they’ve been doing that since I’ve been around the jail. So, it’s not like they’re just sitting there letting things happen. Because they are not.”

Hudson’s employees clearly aren’t “just sitting there letting things happen.” Unfortunately, they’re often actively conspiring to traffic the contraband themselves.

In 2022, WPDE TV-15 (ABC – Florence/Myrtle Beach) noted that “seven Darlington County correctional officers” had been arrested over the previous eighteen months.

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RELATED | DETAINEES DROP GANG SIGNS, SMOKE JOINTS ON SNAPCHAT

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Are weekly shakedowns really going to be effective if the real problem involves those providing the contraband they’re supposedly trying to find?

Hudson warned his criminal deputies of his intention to arrest them in his conversation with Brown.

“If they want to take their jobs, and the responsibilities lightly, we will continue to arrest them and put them in a facility that they work at,” he said.

Hudson is currently investigating the provenance of the recently discovered contraband, but hasn’t yet charged anyone for bringing it into the facility.

In fairness, Hudson’s inability to maintain order at this facility can be blamed in part on the glacial pace at which cases move through South Carolina’s court system – which often leads to detention center overcrowding. Hudson told Brown his facility is currently holding 200 detainees, putting it only 35 detainees shy of it’s maximum capacity.

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“When our count is low, it is smooth over there,” Hudson said. “The inmates, if you can get rid of the rowdy ones, you know, that cuts down on the officers wanting to quit. Because they don’t want to have to deal with urine being thrown on them. Or feces being thrown on them. You know, food trays, being thrown back at them or food being thrown at them.”

Hudson’s electoral opponent, Michael August, took to Facebook to call the search of the facility “a REACTIVE response” adding in a more recent post that “Darlington County is more dangerous than Chicago” because Hudson’s office “is in disarray.”

We’d love to hear how Hudson would rebut August’s allegations, but he has yet to respond to this news outlet.

Sheriff Hudson, we’re not going anywhere in the event that you’d like to share your side of the story. Or, in accordance with our open microphone policy, feel free to summit an opinion editorial … or to respond to our requests for comment on future matters.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

(Via: Travis Bell)

Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.

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