Lancaster County School Board Member Arrested On Meth Trafficking Charges

LANCASTER, SC — A Lancaster County school board member and a Fort Mill woman have been arrested on multiple charges including trafficking methamphetamine.

Deputies arrested James Brooks, 50, and Carol Broom, 37, over the weekend after finding drugs hidden throughout a rented vehicle they were driving Saturday morning.

Officials say a deputy was tipped off about two suspicious suspects while fueling his patrol car at a QT on Charlotte Highway. When the pair left, the deputy followed the car and stopped them on Doby’s Bridge Road after they were seen swerving in the roadway.

During the stop deputies proceeded to search the car of Brooks and Broom after seeing an open beer bottle in the vehicle. During the search deputies found 24 grams of methamphetamine, 3.6 grams of marijuana, a loaded 12 gauge shotgun, and drug paraphernalia hidden throughout the vehicle and in the suspect’s personal belongings.

James Brooks is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Lancaster County School District, according to the district’s website. Brooks was elected back in 2014 for the District 1 seat.

Brooks and Broom were both charged with Trafficking Methamphetamine 10-28 grams and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Brooks was also charged with Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Violent Crime and Simple Possession of Marijuana.

Broom was also charged with Possession of an Open Container of Beer.