Jarman Lamar White, 38, of Rock Hill, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine. The plea was entered in federal court in Columbia.
According to investigators, White sold drugs obtained from members of the Darryl Hemphill drug organization. Agents discovered that some of these drugs included counterfeit pills resembling oxycodone 30 mg tablets, known generically as Roxicodone. These pills were manufactured by the organization using fentanyl at locations in Rock Hill and Charlotte.
Law enforcement intercepted phone calls between White and other members of the group discussing the acquisition of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Investigators also found that White allowed the organization to use his girlfriend’s basement in Rock Hill for pill press machines used to make fentanyl-laced pills. Surveillance showed White and others moving pill press equipment into the residence. On one occasion, about 50,000 fentanyl-laced pills were produced there in a single day. In exchange for allowing this activity at his residence, White received both fentanyl-laced pills and several thousand dollars.
When White was arrested in June 2018, agents executed a search warrant at the residence and found multiple pill press machines, a pill binder, masks or respirators, an industrial mixing machine, and a 9mm pistol inside a backpack belonging to White.
After other members of the organization were arrested, agents with the York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit conducted three controlled purchases of fentanyl pills from White. These operations revealed that he continued distributing fentanyl-laced pills after his initial arrest.
White faces up to life in federal prison along with a potential $20 million fine, restitution requirements, and a minimum 10-year supervised release following any imprisonment. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis accepted the guilty plea; sentencing will follow review of a report prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
The prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation aimed at dismantling major drug trafficking organizations through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. More information on OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The case was investigated by several agencies including the FBI Columbia Field Office; Drug Enforcement Administration; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; York County Multijurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit; South Carolina Law Enforcement Division; and Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney William K. Witherspoon is prosecuting.
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