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by WILL FOLKS
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Multiple additional defendants have entered guilty pleas in connection with a sprawling, state-level crackdown on fentanyl distribution, according to the office of South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson.
The ‘Devil in Disguise’ investigation – led by assistant attorney general Savanna Goude – netted five additional guilty pleas this week, according to a release from Wilson’s office. As we have previously reported, the prosecution of ‘Devil in Disguise’ spans five counties – and involves nearly 400 separate narcotics and related charges against more than 100 individual defendants.
Last month, eleven guilty pleas were secured by Goude in connection with this ongoing prosecution. Of the combined sixteen pleas secured over the past two months, thirteen have resulted in defendants receiving sentences of a decade or more at the S.C. Department of Corrections (SCDC).
That’s serious time that not only takes these drug dealers off of the streets… but hopefully serves as a deterrent to those who engage in such conduct in the future.
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All of the ‘Devil in Disguise’ pleas have been heard by S.C. circuit court judge R. Scott Sprouse of Walhalla, S.C.
Sprouse referred to fentanyl as “a deadly drug – a poison on our communities.” Speaking directly to one of the individuals who entered a guilty plea this week, he offered a dire warning regarding any future contact with fentanyl.
“There’s one of two places you’re going to end up when you mess with this stuff,” Sprouse said, pointing first to a courtroom exit (which leads the guilty to jail) and next toward a cemetery located “just up the road” from the courthouse.
One of the defendants who pleaded guilty this week, Tavis Demond Barnette, not only admitted to putting this “poison” onto the streets – but also attempting to drop contraband into a Palmetto State prison via drone.
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Barnette’s charges spanned from March 2021 through January 2025, and took place in four South Carolina counties (Greenville, Jasper, Lexington and Anderson). In Lexington County alone, he distributed approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills, prosecutors claimed.
Two other defendants, Clyde Leon Holmes and Bryant Bernard Fuller, were believed to have distributed fentanyl which resulted in overdose deaths along the Woodruff Road area of Greenville. Following their arrests, Goude told Sprouse “overdose deaths drastically declined” in this area.
Those who entered guilty pleas this week were…
- Tavis Demond Barnette (a.k.a. YAB) – Trafficking methamphetamine (X2), trafficking fentanyl, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, attempting to furnish a prisoner with contraband. Sentence: 20 years.
- Clyde Leon Holmes – Distribution of fentanyl, money laundering, trafficking methamphetamine. Sentence: 15 years.
- Bryant Bernard Fuller – Money laundering, trafficking cocaine base, trafficking methamphetamine (X2), possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Sentence: 15 years.
- Patrick Jermain Clement – Distribution of cocaine, trafficking fentanyl, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violence crime, trafficking methamphetamine. Sentence: 15 years.
- Rodney Lemont Carter, Jr. – Trafficking cocaine, trafficking fentanyl, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, trafficking methamphetamine. Sentence: 10 years.
Several of those who pleaded guilty took accountability for their actions in court.
“I want to apologize to the people I hurt,” Clement told Sprouse when offered the opportunity to address the court.
Once again, Wilson hailed his prosecutor – who continues to win lengthy sentences since taking over these cases. He also vowed to continue aggressively using his office “to get fentanyl dealers and career criminals off the street.”
As previously noted, the attorney general’s office is working this investigation in collaboration with the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the S.C. Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit, the South Carolina National Guard Counterdrug Task Force, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, the Greenville County Coroner’s Office, the Pickens County Coroner’s Office, the Easley Police Department, the Pickens Police Department, the Greenville Police Department, the Traveler’s Rest Police Department and the Greer Police Department.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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