SC Emergency spokesperson arrested on distribution of meth drug charges

A spokesperson for South Carolina Emergency Management Division was arrested Sept. 20 on drug charges, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Charles Derrec Bond Becker, 43, was arrested at his home Friday morning by the Columbia Police Department, booked at the Lexington County Detention Center on Friday evening and released Saturday morning on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.

According to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office, officials with the Emergency Management Division and the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division notified Lexington County deputies Sept. 17 about a “zippered pouch” that was found in the Emergency Management Division parking lot on Fish Hatchery Road.

The pouch contained drug paraphernalia and a baggy with a “clear crystal-like substance consistent with meth,” the sheriff’s office said.

Narcotics agents confirmed the substance was methamphetamine, Lexington County Sheriff’s office wrote in an email.

The sheriff’s office said video from security cameras in the Emergency Management Division parking lot shows Becker in possession of the pouch before he sets it down and walks away on a phone call.

The Emergency Management Division did not respond to request for comment. According to Becker’s LinkedIn profile, he has worked at the division for more than seven years as chief of public information and external affairs.