Four men plead guilty to gang-related drug ring that brought heroin to Myrtle Beach

Four South Carolina men have pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges for an operation, that officers say, delivered heroin, cocaine, fentanyl and marijuana to customers in Myrtle Beach and Florence.

United States Attorney Beth Drake announced Monday that Deshawn Earl Chestnut, 24, Matthew DeWitt, 27, and Stacy Cambas, 30, pleaded guilty to participating in the tri-area drug ring in federal court on May 16. Timothy Singletary, 22, also pleaded guilty to a count of drug conspiracy in the same case on May 4. Their respective convictions subject them to up to 20 years imprisonment, according to a release from Drake’s office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Moorman, lead Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) attorney for the District of South Carolina, noted that the prosecution is another OCDETF effort advanced in concert with local, state, and federal law enforcement. OCDETF is a program administered by the Department of Justice that targets large-scale, multi-state drug trafficking organizations, according to the release.

Moorman told the court during proceedings that Chestnut, DeWitt, Cambas and Singletary, working with other co-defendants, distributed heroin, cocaine and/or marijuana to customers in Florence and Myrtle Beach.

The investigation has targeted members of the Billie East Side Bloods, a set of the United Blood Nation, and others who formed an agreement to distribute heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana in South Carolina, and to traffic in and possess firearms for the purpose of advancing the drug conspiracy, according to the release.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the DEA, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, the Horry County Police Department, the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the North Myrtle Beach Police Department, the 15th Circuit Drug Enforcement Unit and the Georgetown Police Department.

The charges filed against the defendants in this operation are being prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Andy Moorman and Lauren Hummel.

This story was originally published May 22, 2017 at 2:34 PM with the headline "Four men plead guilty to gang-related drug ring that brought heroin to Myrtle Beach."