CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA — Sean Michael Taylor, 27, of Camden, was sentenced to 220 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing a quantity of fentanyl.
Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that, on July 1, 2020, deputies with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office and other first responders from the Kershaw County Emergency Medical Services and Coroner’s Office responded to an apparent overdose at a residence in Camden. Responders located a victim who was pronounced deceased at the scene. The victim’s death was later determined to be caused by a fentanyl overdose.
On July 21, 2020, during a separate investigation, federal agents and officers assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration Atlanta-Carolinas High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (ACHIDTA) Task Force in Columbia used a confidential source to buy fentanyl from Taylor. During that exchange, Taylor admitted that he distributed the fentanyl that caused his friend’s death a few weeks prior, and even identified the victim by name.
Later, Taylor confessed to law enforcement that he first injected himself with a syringe containing fentanyl and then handed the victim the syringe containing the remaining fentanyl. Upon injecting the fentanyl, the victim immediately collapsed to the floor, unresponsive. Taylor and others present at the residence dragged the victim to another room, but no one could rouse the victim. Taylor left the residence without calling 911.
United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon sentenced Taylor to 220 months in prison, to be followed by a 3-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the DEA ACHIDTA Task Force in Columbia, which was comprised of agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, and Department of Public Safety for the City of Orangeburg. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Bales is prosecuting the case.
This prosecution is part of a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program (HIDTA) investigation. HIDTA is a grant program purposed with improving public safety and well-being by disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking and money laundering organizations through intelligence-driven multi-jurisdictional operations; enhancing the safety and effectiveness of law enforcement operations through training; and improving communication and information sharing among criminal justice, drug prevention, and drug treatment professionals in support of the objectives as administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy. Additional information can be found at https://www.achidta.org/, https://www.dea.gov/operations/hidta, and https://www.whitehouse.gov/ondcp/.
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