Midlands man who escaped police chase pleads guilty to federal drug and gun charges

A Swansea man who bragged to an undercover informant about ditching a gun and a fanny pack full of heroin and fentanyl at the scene of a wreck has pleaded guilty to federal drug and weapons charges.

Caleb York Rowell and and Brandi Leann Clarke, also known as “Brandi Savage,” pleaded guilty Wednesday to their role in a drug conspiracy in which they sold firearms and drugs to confidential informants and undercover agents throughout the summer of 2021, according to the US Attorney’s Office for South Carolina.

Rowell and Clark each pleaded guilty to the distribution and conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. Rowell also pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl, unlicensed possession of a short-barreled shotgun and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

During a recorded call with a confidential informant on May 11, 2021, Rowell, 28, bragged about how an attempted traffic stop by the Gaston Police Department the day before turned into a police chase leading to a crash. Ditching the car, Rowell fled on foot and was able to escape law enforcement.

Police later found a fanny pack containing at least 40 grams of heroin and fentanyl, along with a stolen .40-caliber pistol. Witnesses at the scene along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which had begun investigating Rowell that May and who connected the recorded call to the crash, identied Rowell as the driver.

Following his escape from police, law enforcement made a series of undercover purchases of firearms, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine from Rowell and Clark from May to July 2021.

One of the firearms Rowell sold to the undercover agent was a short-barreled shotgun. Both Rowell and Clark are prohibited from possessing firearms based upon prior felony convictions in state court, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

United States District Judge Sherri A. Lydon accepted the guilty pleas and will sentence the pair once she has reviewed the standard pre-sentencing reports prepared by the U.S. Probation Office. The reports, designed to assist the judge in sentencing, provide information about the offender’s family and criminal background, as well as relationships, education, employment, finances, physical and mental health, and any history alcohol or substance abuse.

Rowell faces a statutory mandatory minimum of five years in prison with a maximum of 40 years for distribution, a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine of $2 million on the distribution charge and maximum of 10 years in prison for charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and the possession of the unregistered short-barreled shotgun. He could also face $7.25 million in fines.

Clark faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a fine of $2 million on the conspiracy charge.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Gaston Police Department, Swansea Police Department, and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey D. Haynes is prosecuting the case.