Girlfriend of man who shot at SC deputies accused of endangering children
A woman has been arrested after investigators say that she and her now-deceased boyfriend who died after exchanging gunfire with police smoked drugs inside a car that was used to carry kids, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
Kristen Porter, 28, was charged Friday with two counts of unlawfully placing a child at risk after investigators found that she and Cameron Dennett, 25, routinely smoked methamphetamine and marijuana inside a 2015 Toyota Corolla used to transport a three-year-old and a baby, according to a news release.
The investigation stemmed from an officer involved shooting in July, where Dennett ambushed deputies with the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office by firing a gun at them as they attempted to execute arrest warrants for Dennett and Porter.
In the wake of the shooting, Deputy Devin Mason, 27, and Dennett were killed. Another deputy, Michael August, was wounded but survived.
Beyond Dennett — who was wanted on criminal conspiracy, forgery and second-degree computer act charges — Porter was wanted on two counts of forgery and single counts of criminal conspiracy, forgery and second-degree computer act.
Under South Carolina law, the computer act makes it a crime for anyone to use a computer to scheme, defraud or obtain money, property, or services by means of false or fraudulent pretenses.
Porter was taken into custody and booked into the Darlington County Detention Center. Following her release, however, investigators discovered that, between Feb. 18, 2025 and July 1, 2025, she and Dennett had regularly smoked meth and marijuana inside Porter’s car that was used to transport small children, according to an arrest warrant.
A witness told investigators that not only had they had seen Dennett and Porter smoke drugs inside the car but that they also saw Porter leave methamphetamine around a residence occupied by the children, the warrant said.
It’s unclear whether the children belonged to Porter or to a relative and whether the kids were ever in the car while the couple were actively smoking drugs.
Records from the South Carolina Department of Social Services show that Porter admitted that “it is possible drugs could be in (the children’s) system,” according to the arrest warrant.
Indeed, one child tested positive for cannabinoids on Feb. 19, 2025, at the McLeod Regional Medical Center, the warrant said.
Porter was again booked into the Darlington County Detention Center on Thursday.
