Florence County gang task force up and running

By: Jamie Rogers/Morning News | SCNow
Published: November 28, 2007

Law enforcement agencies in Florence County officially have joined forces with each other and with some federal agents to establish a task force designed to curb the region’s growing gang problem.

Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone said a county-wide task force has been in the making for some time, but the group had its first official meeting Nov. 9.

“It consists of a representative from every law enforcement agency in this county,” he said. “It’s each municipality — all the small towns are represented.”

Twenty-five people are involved in the task force, including representatives from the State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI as well as federal prosecutors and the 12th Circuit Solicitor’s office, Boone said.

“It’s a way to gather intelligence, and anyone involved in this task force will be aware of what’s going on in other areas of the county,” he said.

Less than a month into its existence, the task force is investigating three gang-related incidents, Boone said.

Two Nov. 14 armed robberies at two convenience stores on U.S. 76 are being reviewed by the task force because one of the suspects has been linked to a local gang. Richard Eugene Powell, 20, of 3738 Garner Road, Timmonsville, was arrested in connection with the robberies and has been identified as a member of the Folk Nation gang, Boone said.

Additionally, the task force is investigating an October incident in Olanta where someone bound a victim’s hands and feet with a telephone cord, then set his house on fire, Boone said. The incident is believed to be some form of gang retaliation.

“This whole task force is about monitoring and collecting intelligence,” he said. “It’s taken them a year to get this point, identifying each gang group and each member ... we use that intelligence to build these cases and take them to state or either federal prosecutors.”

Task force operations are very complex and involve a lot of planning and coordination among officers and prosecutors, Boone said.

“It’s not like we just threw 25 people together,” he said. “It’s pretty in-depth.”

The Florence County Sheriff’s Office is one of the first agencies to have access to the SLED database of gang members, Boone said. The office began using the database this month.

Florence County gang task force up and running

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