Palmetto State News

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has announced the sentencing of Walter Goad, a Lexington County resident, to 25 years in prison for cocaine trafficking. On October 31, 2024, a Kershaw County jury found Goad guilty of trafficking over 200 grams of cocaine.

The investigation began in August 2016 when agents started looking into a suspected cocaine distributor in Kershaw County. Walter Goad was identified as the supplier after he was observed at the residence of the suspect on Ward Road in Lugoff on September 22, 2016. Law enforcement executed a search warrant shortly after and recovered approximately ten ounces of cocaine from the location.

Goad was implicated by the suspected dealer during an investigation that included monitored phone calls. In one call, Goad asked about money owed to him and threatened violence over unpaid drug debts.

On October 3, 2016, DEA agents and Lexington County Sheriff's Office searched Goad's home. A narcotics dog alerted officers to a large black bin containing packaging materials matching those used for cocaine distribution and other drug-related items.

After a four-day trial, Judge Jocelyn Newman sentenced Goad to prison and imposed a $100,000 fine. He must serve at least eighty-five percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

Kershaw County Sheriff Lee Boan expressed gratitude following the conviction: “We are always thankful to see drug traffickers get prosecuted and sentenced to prison. These crimes often get forgotten because drug trafficking can be seen as a victimless crime. It is not.”

Assistant Attorneys General Christina Gatte and Jennifer McKellar prosecuted the case with investigations led by Michael Sellers formerly from Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and Special Agent Adam Hardin of the DEA.