Midlands Gang Task Force arrests 10 in drug sting

The Midlands Gang Task Force arrested 10 suspects on various drug charges during a sting this week, officials said.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said the task force conducted an operation Tuesday at the Bethel Bishop Apartments, in the 100 block of Ripplemeyer Avenue. The complex is off I-277, near West Beltline Boulevard and Farrow Road.

Lott said the task force was responding to complaints of gang and illegal drug activity in the neighborhood. Members of the task force executed a search warrant on one of the apartments in the complex and found drugs and weapons inside.

The task force seized about 34 grams of crack cocaine, 355 grams of marijuana and a .380 Smith & Wesson pistol that was reported stolen in Cayce, Lott said.

Following the discovery of the illegal items, several suspects were taken into custody and charged:

▪  Kiara Tallessa Perry, 25, charged with trafficking crack cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Lucas Lorenzo Murry, 33, charged with trafficking crack cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Traon Marquell Davis, 22, charged with trafficking crack cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Kewan M. Cherry, 26, charged with possession of cocaine

▪  Abbonish Markese Belton, 25, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Dominique Wilson, 17, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Wilson Cedric Isaac, 28, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Dexter Leonard Isaac, 27,charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Harley D. Stephens, 24, charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana

▪  Valerie McFadden, 27, charged with trespassing, public disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Lott said Perry, Murry and Davis were taken into custody inside an apartment, and Cherry, Belton, Wilson, Stephens and both Isaacses were arrested outside of the building.

Task force members come from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department, the Columbia Police Department and the University of South Carolina Police Department.

The suspects were transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Midlands Gang Task Force arrests 10 in drug sting."