Duo pleads guilty in drug conspiracy accused of guns, drug charges

Lexington County, SC (WOLO) — Two people from Lexington County have pleaded guilty in connection with selling guns and drugs to confidential informants and undercover agents in the Summer of 2021. Authorities tells us the ATF confirmed that the day before their arrest, Gaston Police Department had been involved in a chase for car where the driver refused to stop as they tried to pull it over for a traffic stop. Officials say that incident ended in a car crash, but led to the discovery of drugs prompting the investigation. Authorities say Rowell bragged about running from police during the attempted traffic stop.

From the months of May through July of 2021, authorities say they sent undercover agents to them to make several purchases of firearms, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from Rowell and Clark.

Image: Lexington Co. Sheriff’s Department
(Picture: Caleb York Rowell, 29, of Swansea,)

Image: Lexington Co. Sheriff's Department (Picture: Caleb York Rowell, 29, of Swansea,)

Image: Lexington Co. Sheriff’s Department
(Picture: Brandi Leann Clarke, a/k/a “Brandi Savage,” 26, of Gaston)

Image: Lexington Co. Sheriff's Department (Picture: Brandi Leann Clarke, a/k/a “Brandi Savage,” 26, of Gaston)

According to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. District Judge Sherri Lydon accepted the pleas of both 29 year old Caleb Rowell of Swansea and 26 year old Brandi Clark of Gaston pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute Fentanyl, Heroin and Methamphetamine.

Rowell pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute and distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a short-barreled shotgun not registered to him in the national firearms registration and transfer record. The pair remain behind bars awaiting sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with assistance of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Gaston Police Department, Swansea Police Department, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey D. Haynes is prosecuting the case.