Columbia heroin dealer gets 17+ years in prison

After earlier pleading guilty to heroin trafficking, money laundering and illegally possessing a fire arm, Eric Shawn Bradley, 47, of Columbia was sentenced to 17.5 years in federal prison Thursday, US attorney Bill Nettles said in a news release.

Bradley was one of 10 people busted in 2014 after a shipment of heroin was intercepted by authorities and federal wiretaps tied the 10 to a far-flung drug ring that brought heroin from India , and later New York state, into South Carolina for distribution.

Because of a long rap sheet which included prior federal and state convictions for violent drug and property crimes, Bradley faced an even longer ‘enhanced’ prison sentence, Nettles said.

Last week, co-defendant Larry Bookman, 52, of Columbia pleaded guilty to charges related to the case and is awaiting sentencing. Four other co-defendants also pleaded guilty in the drug conspiracy and have been sentenced including Kenneth Crawford, 42, of Washington DC (10 years); Charles Bradley, 32, of Columbia (4.75 years); Anthony Glover, 40, of Columbia (10 years); and, Jessany Lyons, 25, of New York state (3+ years).

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Columbia heroin dealer gets 17+ years in prison."