Four arrested on drug charges after reported home invasion

Four Hartsville residents were arrested on drug charges early Monday morning after deputies responded to a reported home invasion near Hartsville, according to a press release from Darlington County Chief Deputy Sheriff Tom Gainey.

James Mondrnea Carroway, 33; Ladreca S. Gibson, 32; and Kelvin Brown, 19, all of 711 Poplar St., are each charged with trafficking in crack cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and possession of marijuanawith intent to distribute, Gainey said.

Pam Wheeler, 51, of 845 Hartland Drive, is charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, Gainey said.

No more arrests are expected, the chief deputy said.

Deputies were called to the Poplar Street residence about 5 a.m. Monday morning. When they arrived, they were told someone had been taken from the residence by armed suspects who’d entered the residence and demanded to know where the victim had his drugs hidden.

It’s not clear whether the armed suspects broke into the residence. One victim said there were three suspects, the other said there were four, Gainey said.

When the suspects and the victim went outside into the yard, the person left inside the residence heard a gunshot. The suspects and victim were gone when deputies arrived, and a Be On the Lookout (BOLO) alert was issued, Gainey said in the release.

About an hour later, the victim, who’d suffered a wound to one of his hands, was found at a residence on Society Avenue in Hartsville, from where he’d called his mother’s residence. An EMS crew was called to the scene to treat the suspect, then take him to an area hospital.

State Law Enforcement Division agents were called to assist in processing the crime scene, Gainey said in the release. While the scene was being processed, a quantity of drugs was seen in plain view at the Poplar Street residence. A search warrant for that residence, as well as a residence at 845 Hartland Drive and a storgage bin on Bobo Newsom Highway in Hartsville, was obtained and served by Darlington County Sheriff’s Office narcotics officers and investigators. Drugs were found at all three sites.

Among the items seized during the searches were 146 grams of crack cocaine, 129 grams of cocaine, 441 grams of marijuana, three handguns, scales, $1,666 in cash and $500 in counterfeit currency, Gainey said.

Monday morning’s incident is the county’s third reported home invasion in the past six months, and the eighth reported in the past year.

More than half of the home invasions also involved a shooting, two of them fatal.

Darlington County sheriff’s investigators have said they think there’s a link between two home invasions reported in May, one of which led to the shooting of a 66-year-old man.

The first incident happened about 2:45 a.m. May 3 on Marcus Drive in the Clyde community. Victims said six men forced their way into their home, stole money and said they were looking for a particular person. They left in a white or silver-colored Cadillac Escalade and a blue car, possibly a Pontiac Bonneville, after several shots were fired, likely into the air.

After the second incident, which happened around 3 a.m. May 4 on D Street near Hartsville, a resident was found lying on his front porch after being shot. Several bullets from a large-caliber weapon had struck his home, and a 1984 Lincoln Continental not belonging to the victim was left at the residence with the motor still running.

A woman was shot in the leg the morning of Nov. 28 after a man broke into her Woodhaven Drive residence. The incident prompted a temporary lockdown at nearby Darlington High School.

A series of home invasions that happened early the morning of Sept. 26 led to the shooting death of a suspect. Dewayne Antron Washington, 22, was shot while at a residence near Jeffords Mill Road near Mont Clare, a community north of Darlington.

Sheriff’s investigators said gunfire was exchanged between the Washington and Devon Smith, an occupant of a residence on Lodon Fog Drive where the last of the three home invasions was reported that day. Smith was struck by a bullet, but recovered.

A home invasion also happened the night of Sept. 24 on Berry Road in Lydia, where a suspect was shot and later died.

One person at the home had a concealed weapons permit and shot Christopher Stephenson, 20, of Lydia with a handgun, according to the sheriff’s office. No charges were filed against the person who shot Stephenson.