SC man accused of running heroin, crack operation out of Hilton Head hotel room
An Estill, S.C., man faces charges of selling crack cocaine and heroin out of a Hilton Head Island hotel room this month, according to police.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office charged Stephen Cary Ackerman, 41, of Estill on March 8 with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of methamphetamine, and driving on a suspended license second offense.
Riana Husted, a Beaufort County public defender, is representing Ackerman and declined to comment on Friday afternoon.
A Sheriff’s Office report states Ackerman was being monitored by the Beaufort County Violent Crimes Task Force, which comprises all police agencies in the county.
The task force received a tip this month that Ackerman, who allegedly goes by the moniker “Fat Boy,” was selling cocaine, crack cocaine and heroin in the county. Further investigation found he was frequenting a room at the Red Roof Inn on Hilton Head, according to the report.
Six months prior, the Hardeeville Police Department charged Ackerman with drug trafficking out of a room in the Days Inn hotel off I-95.
While Ackerman was under surveillance on Hilton Head on March 8, Sheriff’s deputies watched as he drove out of the Red Roof Inn and “failed to use a turn signal” driving onto U.S. 278, the report said.
The deputies pulled him over.
The report states they discovered his license had been suspended and found crack cocaine in his right pocket.
Deputies said because they believed Ackerman had “an active and ongoing criminal enterprise,” they searched his room in the Red Roof Inn.
The report said they found several small bags with residue, two bags with unidentified pills, and two scales.
Ackerman was arrested and taken at 8:21 p.m. March 8 to the Beaufort County Detention Center, where he is still detained. A judge set three cash bonds for him totaling $50,000.
