Press Release: Solicitor Will Rogers announces that Earl Wilson was sentenced today after being found guilty on April 7, 2009 of Distribution of Crack Cocaine. At General Sessions court in Marlboro County, The Honorable Paul M. Burch handed down a sentence of 10 years which was unsealed after Wilson was apprehended in North Carolina. Wilson failed to appear for his trial in April 2009 and was found guilty by a jury of his peers. His sentence was sealed, pending his apprehension. He was represented at trial by Chief Public Defender A.C. "Michael" Stephens. A bench warrant was issued after the trial which led to Wilson's arrest.
Wilson was charged after he sold a quantity of crack cocaine to a confidential informant working with the Chesterfield County Sheriff's Office. At trial, Senior Prosecutor Mary Thomas Johnson-Lee presented evidence that during a controlled sting operation, Wilson and a co-defendant were captured on recording devices selling drugs in the Pageland area of Chesterfield County.
"The sentence in this case is a reflection on the fact that drugs must be taken seriously," said Adam M. Foard, Assistant Solicitor for Chesterfield County. "Ten years will hopefully send a message to the community and especially those who sell and use drugs that law enforcement and Solicitor Rogers have made a commitment to fighting this battle and enforcing the drug laws."
Wilson faced a maximum sentence of 15 years and will spend his incarceration at the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
The Fourth Circuit Solicitor's Office serves the Fourth Judicial Circuit of South Carolina which includes Chesterfield, Darlington, Dillon, and Marlboro Counties.
