Woman in prison getting more time behind bars, SC prosecutor says. Here’s why
A woman who was an inmate at a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison will spend more time behind bars, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Alicia Nicole Hicks was convicted on multiple charges connected to smuggling drugs inside prison where she trafficked the narcotics, the solicitor’s office said Monday in a news release.
On Feb. 19 in a Richland County courtroom, Hicks pleaded guilty to criminal conspiracy, furnishing contraband and trafficking methamphetamine (more than 10 grams but less than 28 grams — second offense) charges, according to the release. The 33-year-old inmate at Camille Graham Correctional Institution was sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison, officials said.
Hicks’ original sentence began in July 2019, when she was convicted on drug and gun charges in Spartanburg County, records show.
On Jan. 20, 2023, the S.C. Department of Corrections Inspector General responded to an attempt to smuggle approximately 12 grams of methamphetamine into the Camille Graham Correctional Institution, according to the release. During a routine search, correctional officers located and seized the meth from another inmate, whom they identified as a co-conspirator of Hicks, the solicitor’s office said. That inmate has not been publicly identified.
Investigators determined that Hicks coordinated the acquisition of the meth and directed where in the prison it was to be delivered, according to the release. She also instructed others to move the drugs when they weren’t placed in the intended location, and then arranged for their retrieval, the solicitor’s office said.
Prior to the new conviction, Hicks was scheduled to be released from prison in 2029, records show.
The S.C. Department of Corrections Inspector General investigated the case, Assistant Solicitors Tia Reed, Jenny Desch and Gabrielle Sharp led the prosecution for the solicitor’s office. Public defender Payne Hoy was listed as Hicks’ attorney, Richland County court records show.
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