Three SC residents in jail for what was found in car at traffic stop, cops say

Three South Carolina residents were arrested following a recent traffic stop, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. None of the multiple charges facing the trio are traffic violations, but are connected to drug and gun crimes, the sheriff’s office said in a news release.

Sumter residents Albert Cooper, 47, and Candace Brooke Evans, 33, as well as 34-year-old Alcolu resident Christopher Earl Moses, were arrested Tuesday when the vehicle they were in was stopped at a routine driver’s license checkpoint, according to the release.

Deputies were verifying driver’s licenses, vehicle registrations, insurance documentation, and proper use of seat belts and child safety seats at a checkpoint, but at about 9:50 p.m. they uncovered something more significant, the sheriff’s office said.

The vehicle driven by Moses, with Cooper and Evans as passengers, was stopped and deputies saw drug paraphernalia and an AR-style rifle in plain view as they approached, according to the release.

All three were charged with trafficking methamphetamine and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, the sheriff’s office said. Moses and Cooper also were each charged with a single count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to the release.

Moses, Cooper and Evans were booked into the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center and their bonds were set at $10,015, $35,000 and $20,000, respectively, according to the release. As of 7 p.m. Wednesday, all three remained locked up, the sheriff’s office said.

Noah Feit

The State

803-771-8435

Noah Feit is a Real Time reporter with The State focused on breaking news, public safety and trending news. The award-winning journalist has worked for multiple newspapers since starting his career in 1999. Support my work with a digital subscription