2 indicted in fatal Goose Creek fire

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Two men have been indicted on federal drug charges stemming from a fire at a Goose Creek apartment in May that killed three people and left 36 homeless.

Thirty-nine-year-old Shonni Abernathy and 33-year-old Jerald McCabe of Berkeley County appeared before a judge Tuesday and were charged with conspiring to manufacture methamphetamine and two other counts. Investigators found evidence of a meth lab at the May 31 fire.

The defendants remain in jail on state charges of violating probation.

U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles says it’s the first case involving a death from the manufacture of the drug in South Carolina.

The defendants could be sentenced to life in prison and fined $10 million if they are convicted.

It was not clear if they have attorneys.