DOJ: Man pleads guilty to his role in heroin conspiracy

KERSHAW, S.C. (WOLO)— The United States Department of Justice says a 53 year-old man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute heroin.

Corey Xavier Baldwin was part of a group of individuals who obtained heroin from sources outside of South Carolina and helped distribute in the Midlands.

He was arrested after an investigation revealed he was one of 10 defendants charged in April 2014 following a series of court-authorized wiretaps over several telephones in the Columbia area.

Six of those defendants were arrested, while four remained fugitives, including Baldwin. He was arrested in Sept. 2022 in Concord, North Carolina.

Baldwin previously served time in Ohio for a 1994 aggravated murder conviction. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

He also faces a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least 3 years of supervision after imprisonment.