Six plead guilty as part of theft ring, nearly $400,000 worth of stolen goods over 10 years

Columbia, S.C. (WOLO) – South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson said today that six individuals have pled guilty this week for their roles in the theft and sale of nearly $400,000 worth of personal property stolen from victims in Marlboro County over the course of 10 years.

Officials say from 2007 to 2017 there were over a dozen thefts throughout Marlboro County as well as the surrounding Pee Dee region. They remained unsolved until an anonymous tip regarding a suspicious tractor hidden in a wooded area in Bennettsville.

Those who pled guilty are as follows:

·         Christopher Carter who pleaded guilty to one count of Grand Larceny over $10,000, four counts Grand Larceny value over $2,000 but less than $10,000, one count Burglary-Third Degree, and one count Criminal Conspiracy;

·         Jamie Gray who pleaded guilty to nine counts Grand Larceny value over $10,000, one count Grand Larceny value over $2,000 but less than $10,000, and one count Receiving Stolen Goods value over $10,000;

·         Michael Summerford who pleaded guilty to one count Receiving Stolen Goods value over $2,000 but less than $10,000;

·         Sandy Miller who pleaded guilty to one count Receiving Stolen Goods value over $2,000 but less than $10,000;

·         Wilbur Berry who pleaded guilty to one count Receiving Stolen Goods value over $2,000 but less than $10,000; and

·         Johnny Britt who pleaded guilty to one count Receiving Stolen Goods value over $10,000, one count Accessory After the Fact of a Felony, and one count Criminal Conspiracy.

Due to Carter and Gray’s major roles in the theft ring, sentencing related to their guilty pleas was deferred until the conclusion of the prosecution of remaining co-defendants.

Summerford received a sentence of 18 months suspended to one-year probation, Miller received a sentence of three years suspended to one-year probation, Berry received a sentence of one year suspended to one-year probation, and Britt received a sentence of three years suspended to 90 days active sentence followed by three years’ probation.

Items stolen included several tractors, trailers, large farm equipment, ATV/UTVs, and other various heavy equipment.