Steven Daniel Brown, known as “Steve-O” and a validated member of a motorcycle gang, age 50, was convicted of trafficking 400 grams or more of methamphetamine by a Lexington County jury last week and sentenced to 25 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections on August 10, 2023, by Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Cooper, Jr. Under South Carolina law, Brown is not eligible for parole.
In 2018, investigators with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department narcotics enforcement and crime reduction teams received information that Brown was involved in the trafficking of narcotics. In 2020, during this ongoing investigation, law enforcement received additional information that Brown would travel to the metro area of Atlanta, Georgia, to purchase large amounts of methamphetamine to bring back into Lexington County.
In June of 2020, in coordination with the South Carolina Highway Patrol, a criminal interdiction team with a narcotics detection K9 conducted a traffic stop on Brown’s vehicle during a return trip from Atlanta. The K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics in Brown’s vehicle, and a search was conducted. At the beginning of the search, Brown stated to law enforcement “it’s in the floorboard.” Search of the vehicle revealed approximately 3 kilograms/7 pounds of a substance consistent with methamphetamine packaged in three separate containers inside of a liquor box in the rear passenger floorboard. Brown was arrested for trafficking in methamphetamine.
During the investigation, law enforcement discovered text messages from Brown’s phone with a supplier in the Atlanta area. These text messages showed detailed plans and price negotiations between Brown and the supplier for the purchase of the methamphetamine found in the vehicle. Later chemical analysis confirmed that the substance was in fact methamphetamine.
Assistant Solicitors Kyle E. Smith and Kelly Oppenheimer prosecuted this case on behalf of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit Solicitor’s Office. At sentencing, Assistant Solicitor Smith noted that the highest threshold for trafficking methamphetamine under South Carolina law is 400 grams or more, and that Brown had cleared that mark seven times over.
