Columbia, South Carolina – Acting United States Attorney M. Rhett DeHart reported today that three previous deputies with the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office – Carolyn Colter Franklin, 64; Allan Hunter, 52; and Nathaniel Miller Shazier, III, 29 – all from Orangeburg County, were condemned to multi-year sentences in government jail for utilizing their situations as cops to plot with who they accepted to be individuals from a Mexican medication cartel. Furthermore, Franklin and Hunter were condemned on government charges of planning to acquire false U-visas for non-outsiders in return for pay-offs.
“These sentences highlight that no one is above the law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney DeHart. “Anyone brazen enough to conspire with cartels to commit crimes, especially those placed in public trust, will be met with the full force of the federal government.”
“Those sentenced were trusted by their communities to serve and protect,” said Susan Ferensic, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge. “Instead, while still wearing a badge, they decided to work on behalf of a drug cartel and facilitate the distribution of illegal drugs. Keeping to the FBI’s mission, we aggressively pursued this investigation bringing together dedicated Agents and an array of resources to root out corrupt law enforcement officers who dishonor the profession. The FBI is committed to ensuring law enforcement maintains the trust of the public it serves by never ceasing to pursue the corrupt.”
Proof introduced to the Court showed that, during a covert activity led by the FBI between December 2018 and March 2019, Franklin, Hunter, and Shazier consented to help ensure trucks containing what they accepted were drug continues got from opiates dissemination by individuals from a Mexican medication cartel drug ring. The individuals were really secret FBI specialists. Also, the three consented to help secure trucks containing kilogram amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine later on.
Proof introduced in court likewise showed that, between February 2018 and March 2019, in return for pay-offs, Franklin and Hunter made false archives for non-settlers. In particular, the records were intended to assist the foreigners with accomplishing U non-migrant status, which, by rule, is held for survivors of specific violations who have endured mental or actual maltreatment and are useful to law authorization in the examination or arraignment of crime.
Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. condemned Franklin to 61 months in government jail, Hunter to 63 months in administrative jail, and Shazier to 46 months in bureaucratic jail. Every respondent’s sentence will be trailed by three years of regulated delivery. There is no parole in the government framework.
The case was examined by the FBI and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Associate United States Attorney Benjamin Garner and Assistant United States Attorney Brook Andrews arraigned the case.