Third SC man pleads guilty in York County fentanyl bust after denied ‘man cave’ claim
A third man from York County pleaded guilty Thursday in connection with the largest fentanyl bust in county history after previously claiming an alleged drug lab was a “man cave.”
Timario Martez Gayton pleaded guilty Thursday to drug conspiracy after more than 60 pounds of fentanyl and other drugs were seized from a mobile home along Lake Wylie between Rock Hill and Charlotte in October 2022, federal court documents show.
Three other indictments against Gayton in U.S. District Court in Columbia were dismissed, court records show.
The plea agreement was sealed by Judge Sherri Lydon after a request from Gayton, according to court records.
Gayton is represented by Dick Harpootlian and Jim Griffin, who represented Alex Murdaugh in his internationally publicized murder trial earlier this year and on financial crimes.
In the fentanyl case, Harpootlian and Griffin unsuccessfully argued last month to have the seized drugs suppressed, that Gayton was a social guest at the mobile home and that the trailer was used as a “man cave.” Judge Lydon denied the claim, saying in a court order evidence shows the mobile home was used to produce drugs.
Three guilty pleas
Three of the four men charged in the same case have now pleaded guilty to drug charges.
Thomas Anthony Perry pleaded guilty in December. Javaris Latrey Johnson pleaded guilty in October.
Quonzy Lanard Hope, the fourth defendant in the same case who has pleaded not guilty, has a pending motion before Lydon that seeks to suppress the drugs that were seized. Hope and his lawyer, Jack Swerling, claiming in the court motion Hope was an invited “social guest” at the mobile home.
Drugs seized near Lake Wylie
Police and federal agents seized the 60-plus pounds of fentanyl from a Lake Wylie area mobile home that included 160,000 pills, according to federal documents and court testimony.
Police also found pill presses, guns, money and large quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, court documents show. The amount of drugs found is the largest-ever single seizure in York County history.
At a news conference after the Lake Wylie seizure, York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson, 16th Circuit Kevin Brackett, U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and other local officials said the fentanyl taken from the trailer was enough to kill the entire five million plus population of South Carolina.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is approximately 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The DEA says fentanyl is inexpensive, widely available, highly addictive, and lethal.
Area police and officials in South Carolina and Charlotte have said fentanyl is easier than ever to get on the street and is a cause of the majority of recent years drug overdose deaths.
What happens next?
All four defendants remain in federal custody. Sentencing dates have not been set for Gayton, Johnson and Perry who have each pleaded guilty.
It remains unclear when a hearing will be set for Hope’s claim that he was a social guest when the drugs were seized. Federal prosecutors have until Monday to respond to the claim, then Judge Lydon could set a hearing date.
A federal trial for Hope could begin as early as the end of the month.
