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South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson announced this week that another top target of his office’s “Triple Crown” drug trafficking investigation had been convicted and sentenced to decades in prison following skyrocketing overdoses in Kershaw County, S.C.
Marlo Jackson – a top target of the drug trafficking investigation since 2019 – was sentenced to more than three decades in prison after being found guilty in a bench trial, according to Wilson’s office.
Jackson was found guilty of:
- Trafficking methamphetamine, 400 grams or more (conspiracy)
- Trafficking cocaine, 400 grams or more (conspiracy);
- Trafficking cocaine base, 10 grams or more, but less than 28 grams (conspiracy)
- Conspiracy to distribute fentanyl
- Trafficking heroin, 28 grams or more (conspiracy)
The investigation revealed that in the rural “little Egypt” area of Lee County – approximately two miles from the Kershaw County line – Jackson was a major drug distributor and sold sold methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaine base (crack), fentanyl and heroin in an open field area called “the Shop.”
To develop the investigation, law enforcement used controlled drug buys, physical and aerial surveillance and advanced law enforcement techniques – showing how these drugs made their way to Kershaw, Lee, Richland and Sumter counties.
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Testimony at trial exposed a number of co-conspirators involved in the drug trafficking organization – including Janelle Kiser, Anthony Clarkson, Jonathan Cole and Bryan Scarborough. All four of those individuals have previously been convicted in connection with this investigation – as well as others.
Numerous charges from the “Triple Crown” investigation are still pending, as the case involves over fifty (50) co-conspirators alleged to have trafficked cocaine, cocaine base, methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin and fentanyl in Kershaw, Lee, Marlboro, Dillon, Sumter and Richland counties.
“Yet again, this office and its law enforcement partners have succeeded in convicting a dangerous drug trafficker,” Wilson said in a statement.
Jackson was sentenced by S.C. circuit court judge Paul Burch. The case was investigated by the statewide grand jury (SGJ) and prosecuted by assistant attorney general Savanna Goude.
Assisting the SGJ were the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO), Lee County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), Sumter County Sheriff’s Office (SCSO), Richland County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO), Camden Police Department (CPD), Florence County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO), Dillon County Sheriff’s Office (DCSO), Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), South Carolina Highway Patrol, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the DEA and FBI.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from J. L. Mann High School in 2021. She is currently a senior at the University of South Carolina majoring in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.
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