Inmates Labor Used to Process Guns at Crime Scene
CHESTERFIELD CO., S.C. – When the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office discovered thousands of stolen firearms inside a Pageland home late last month, they understandably needed help collecting all the evidence from the scene.Β
By the county’s own admission, there were at least 100 law enforcement officers present, but apparently that wasn’t enough. Whistle blowers tell WCCB Charlotte that Undersheriff Rob Lee decided to pull ten inmates out of jail to come help collect the loaded firearms and ammo.Β
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But as jail administrator Sheila Gillespie noted in a letter to the South Carolina Attorney General, inmates aren’t allowed to perform work on private property, and it’s illegal for inmates to handle weapons and ammo. Gillespie was on vacation when this all happened.Β
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She says after she found out, she contacted the county administrator, the Department of Corrections, the County Attorney, SLED and the Attorney General’s Office to report the violation. All essentially brushed her off.
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County leaders did respond to WCCB, saying in part they are addressing the issue administratively by “ceasing the use of inmate labor…” and “reviewing protocols to make certain similar issues do not arise in the future.”
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But it’s the past that has Gillespie worried. She doesn’t want to repeat ex-Chesterfield County Sheriff Sam Parker’s fate. She took the stand in his 2014 trial. He was found guilty of misconduct in office, for, in part, using inmates to do work on his private property. Parker spent a year in prison, and he’s now out on probation.
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It all begs the question: did the people in power fail to learn anything from Parker’s fate, or are they simply above the law? WCCB Charlotte submitted open records requests to the county for a number of public documents. Under state law, they have 15 days to respond.
