Murdaugh lawyers hired in SC county’s fentanyl bust. Here’s why they want evidence tossed
Lawyers for one of the South Carolina men charged in the largest fentanyl bust in York County history want a federal judge to toss the seizure of 60-plus pounds of dangerous drugs found in the raid.
Not only do they want the October 2022 seizure thrown out, defense lawyers Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin want “all fruits of the search” — the drugs captured — suppressed from the case. The same two attorneys have represented Alex Murdaugh in his internationally publicized murder trial earlier this year and on financial crimes.
But federal prosecutors have balked at any notion the seizure was anything but a legitimate attempt to stop a secret drug lab with connections to a distribution network throughout the Southeast. Prosecutors said Monday in court documents the search was legal near Lake Wylie between Rock Hill and Charlotte that netted more than 60 pounds of fentanyl where four men were arrested.
The defense’s claim to an illegal search comes after one of the four men charged in the case already pleaded guilty and awaits sentencing.
The other three defendants have cases pending and have pleaded “not guilty.” One of those three now is challenging the search warrant before jurors are picked for a potential trial.
The raid in October 2022
Federal and local drug agents and prosecutors say in court documents the operation along the lake that straddles York and Mecklenburg counties was a “clandestine” lab. Police seized about 160,000 fentanyl pills, 2 kilograms of cocaine, 1.5 kilograms of heroin, methamphetamine, guns, cash and seven pill press machines, documents show.
Four suspects were charged.
Javaris Latrey Johnson, of Clover, pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, records show. Sentencing is pending.
Charges remain pending against Quonzy Lanard Hope, Thomas Anthony Perry, and Timario Martez Gayton, federal court records show.
All remain in federal custody and face up to life in prison if convicted.
Disputed fentanyl search
Griffin and Harpootlian, lawyers for Gayton, claimed in court documents the search warrant used “stale” information about when drug activity was observed before the raid on Golden Pond Road on Oct. 19, 2022.
The lawyers want the evidence from the York County drug raid thrown out, documents show.
“The affidavit lacks sufficient information from which a judicial officer could find probable cause to believe, at the time the search was actually conducted, that evidence of criminal activity was located at the premises searched,” Griffin and Harpootlian wrote in a court filing.
Lawyers have national status
Griffin and Harpootlian became nationally known earlier this year. They represented Murdaugh in a murder trial in the death of Murdaugh’s wife and son that is on appeal. Griffin and Harpootlian also represented Murdaugh in a guilty plea for millions of dollars in financial crimes.
Murdaugh was sentenced to two life terms for the murder convictions.
Murdaugh was sentenced to 27 years for the financial crimes Tuesday in Beaufort County, The State newspaper reported.
Other than the same defense lawyers, the drug case from York County and the Murdaugh cases in the South Carolina Lowcountry aren’t related.
Prosecutors balk at attempt to toss drug seizure
Federal prosecutor E. Elizabeth Major said in court documents filed late Monday the York County police seizure was legal and the mobile home was used for drugs.
“Not only does the evidence show that (Gayton) did not use this trailer for legitimate purposes, but it also shows that no one used the trailer for a legitimate, legal purpose,” Major wrote in a court document supporting the arrest. “It was purely a clandestine drug lab.”
Gayton has no reasonable expectation of privacy for a drug lab, prosecutors said.
Fentanyl dangers
At a news conference after the Lake Wylie seizure, local officials, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman and Sen. Lindsey Graham said the fentanyl taken from the trailer was enough to kill the entire population of South Carolina.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The DEA says fentanyI is inexpensive, widely available, highly addictive and lethal.
Officials say fentanyl-related overdoses have spiked in the region in recent years. In York County in 2022, 90 of 111 overdose deaths were attributed to fentanyl, according to information released publicly by the York County Coroner.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police have seen a 20 percent jump in overdose deaths in 2023 with fentanyl the main culprit, the Charlotte Observer reported in August.
What happens next?
U.S. District Court Judge Sherri Lydon is scheduled to hear arguments from Gayton’s lawyers and prosecutors in December in federal court in Columbia about the motion to suppress the drug seizure, records show.
This story was originally published November 29, 2023 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Murdaugh lawyers hired in SC county’s fentanyl bust. Here’s why they want evidence tossed."
