1 member of Upstate drug trafficking ring pleads guilty; 3 others convicted

SPARTANBURG, SC (FOX Carolina) – The U.S. Department of Justice said three members of an Upstate drug ring have been sentenced to federal prison and the fourth member has pleaded guilty.

Evidence presented in court showed that on January 18, 2023, Spartanburg County officers stopped 54-year-old Rebecca Whitesides on I-85, searched her car and found nearly two kilograms of methamphetamine.

An investigation into her bank accounts revealed that she helped others conceal payments for drug proceeds.

On February 22, 2023, Spartanburg County officers conducted surveillance at the home of 49-year-old Richard Brian Walker and observed 54-year-old Jeffrey Michael Wilson's car arriving and departing. During a traffic stop on Wilson, officers found more than 5,800 grams of methamphetamine and a loaded semi-automatic pistol with 19 rounds.

Officials said he was responsible for trafficking 50 kilograms of methamphetamine to Walker. They also issued a search warrant for his home and storage building. Investigators found more than 500 grams of methamphetamine and 85 grams of fentanyl, a loaded handgun, a rifle and an unmarked AR-15 short-barreled rifle commonly referred to as a “ghost gun.”

A month later, on March 24, 2023, 45-year-old Amanda Gail Tuck was stopped by Cherokee County officers and found nearly a kilogram of meth in a U-Haul truck.

• Tuck was sentenced to almost six years in prison
• Whitsides was sentenced to ten years in prison but also pleaded guilty to money laundering
• Walker was sentenced to 22.5 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of a short-barreled rifle and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
• Wilson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. He was previously convicted of a meth conspiracy in 2000. Sentencing will take place at a later date.

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