Former Chester County Supervisor Shane Stuart sentenced to 10 years on trafficking charges

In recommending sentencing, SC Assistant Attorney General David Fernandez said the state asked that any sentence run concurrently with the sentence Stuart had already received.

In October of 2022, Stuart pled guilty to drug, misconduct and conspiracy charges, receiving a seven-year sentence in state prison. However, he was not sentenced on charges of trafficking methamphetamines, with that being deferred to a later date. At the time, Creighton Waters (chief attorney for the South Carolina Grand Jury) said Stuart could face as much as 25 years for trafficking, but as little as seven years running concurrent with his existing seven year sentence, depending on Stuart’s level of cooperation.

Fernandez said the charges Stuart was facing were trafficking methamphetamines 28-100 gm., criminal conspiracy, methamphetamine distribution and a count of misconduct in office. Stuart had previously pled guilty to a count of distribution of methamphetamines. The AGs Office recommended that any other sentence run concurrently with the sentence for trafficking.

Fernandez said the case was complex, and began as an investigation into the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, “however, it expanded to include a fairly thorough drug trafficking network, operating out of Chester County and the surrounding areas, to include York County,” Fernandez said.

He said the meth trafficking network was headed locally by co-conspirator Ace Hembree, who was also a Chester County government employee in the Animal Control Department.

“In his capacity in Animal Control, he was familiar with and had a relationship with Mr. Stuart, who was the county supervisor who had hired Mr. Hembree to run Animal Control,” Fernandez said.

“In his role, the State would certainly concede that Mr. Stuart was an addict, very clearly addicted to methamphetamines. That (addiction) largely drove most of (Stuart’s) poor decision-making and in this case, Mr. Stuart was a participant in the conspiracy to traffic methamphetamines; he would have assisted and enabled it, and also used it.

Fernandez said that in his role as county supervisor, he had access to certain things, like a county-owned vehicle that had his name and the Chester County seal on the side. In addition to assisting Hembree and others in the conspiracy, Stuart also concocted a plan to take county vehicles and remove their catalytic converters for resale on the black market. During his initial sentencing hearing in 2022, Waters deemed that scheme to be “very meth.”

Fernandez explained that catalytic converters are valuable because of the metals contained in them. He said Stuart would have access to the county vehicles in his capacity as county supervisor, as well as access to the secure location where the vehicles were parked, and he would have been able to delete the security feeds from the cameras at those locations.

Fernandez said those facts were the basis for the misconduct in office charge.

“He also played a role, although secondary, as a distributor of the drugs, namely logistics, truck transport and serving on occasion,” Fernandez said of Stuart’s involvement.

He added there were a number of controlled purchases from Stuart, which were the basis of the distribution charges.

He said Stuart was identified as the person distributing the drugs by video and by witnesses.

“I also referenced that Mr. Stuart did have a drug problem, which was corroborated by both himself and witnesses. He consumed methamphetamine daily to the point where that was largely motivating his involvement here, as well his affection for the main target of the investigation,” he said.

Fernandez said the motivation that could be assigned to Stuart, who had a good station in life, and a promising career, it would be “addiction and love.”

Fernandez said there needs to be accountability for Stuart using his power as a public official (to commit these crimes), “accountability to the public and accountability for future office-holders.”

Fernandez pointed out that when the investigation ended and Stuart was arrested, he cooperated with law enforcement, even though “there is a history, as far as the State’s dealing with Mr. Stuart, but in the initial phases he was cooperative and did assist (the investigation)…and Mr. Stuart’s cooperation did lead to additional indictments of additional subjects,” he said.

Fernandez said the State recommended a sentence range of seven to 15 years.

“We believe that covers the public’s interest and accountability and taking into consideration his cooperation and relative level in the overall drug conspiracy scheme. He was not the most culpable person, but was certainly a large participant.”

Stuart’s defense attorney Ed Wright said Stuart had already been in the Department of Corrections system and has caused no problems and has undertaken rehabilitation work while he has been incarcerated. Martin asked that any sentence the judge handed down be back-dated to his original sentence date of October 2022.

“It doesn’t make sense for us to go back and talk so much about what he did. Mr. Stuart came here today and pled guilty — he took responsibility for his actions…His accepting responsibility for all of this has made him a better person. He’s (working hard) in SCDC and he’s showing his accountability to the rest of the county, by being the first one in this operation to come before the court and plead guilty. He has been willing to help with the other indictments; all of that should be given credit for him,” Martin said.

Martin said Stuart was “at the bottom of the totem pole” in terms of the overall drug operation. He also said his client was “taken advantage of” and included by ringleaders because they saw that his position would enable them to expand the reach of their drug operation.

“But Mr. Stuart is not without fault, and he understands that,” Martin said. He said Stuart is already doing time, and to increase the sentence beyond what he is already doing would be unfair.

Bishop David Levister spoke on Stuart’s behalf. He told the court that he has known Shane for many years and Stuart has been very active in his church.

“My interaction with Shane is he’s someone who really has a heart to help people. I look at his life and all of his life, he has served: he served in the military, he served in law enforcement and he was the county supervisor. He was never on drugs when he was active in the church, but the thing I noticed about Shane was when his mother passed away — something happened in Shane, I could see it with my interactions with him. It was devastating to him. At the time, I didn’t realize that was his last living relative…I could see that he was lost, and was going through a very bad time and I think that factored in to some of the bad decisions that he made.

“I can honestly say that I’ve met his heart, and I’ve never met a better heart in an individual,” Bishop Levister said. He added that he knows Stuart’s intentions and that he is apologetic for what he has done.

Stuart then asked for permission to address the court himself. By way of background he spoke of his service in Afghanistan for six and a half years and that he came back to the States and dealt with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which he did not mention when he ran for public office but did reference in a Chester County Council meeting just prior to his indictment.

“I dealt with the depression and the PTSD and after my mom passed away in 2019 — something you don’t know about my mom, if she was here today, she would be standing right next to the prosecution,” he said his voice breaking as he said, “some of the things that I have done were bad, very bad and she would not be in favor of what I had been doing.”

He said the loss of his mother put him into a deep depression, and he had to deal with that, and the pressures of being county supervisor.

“But I just wanted to apologize, to my family, friends and loved ones that I hurt. This has hurt a lot of people.

I want to apologize to the law enforcement community — I was in law enforcement for 16 years, working as a dispatcher, a correctional officer, a criminal investigator and a school resource officer — I know better than what I’ve done. I apologize to that community, including Sheriff Max Dorsey,” Stuart said.

He also apologized to the court officials that had to take the time to deal with this case and to the correctional officers that had to take the time to transport him to the courthouse.

He also apologized publicly to SC Attorney General Alan Wilson; Stuart infamously posted some derogatory things about the Attorney General.

“I said some very bad things (about Alan Wilson) and am on the record of saying that…I was not in my right mind at that time. I am trying to better myself, and I will. This is just another phase in my life. We’re going to turn this phase and get better, and one day when I will be out I’ll be able to help the community once again, because I do have a heart for the people in the community” he said.

Co-conspirator Brittany Oneppo was scheduled for sentencing on the same day as Stuart, but because the state has an outstanding defendant who has not been brought to court, they asked Judge Griffith to continue the matter until that defendant, Edward Travis, could be apprehended and the case could be resolved or proceed to trial. Judge Griffith also issued a bench warrant for Travis in the same session of court. Hembree, another co-conspirator, also appeared in court on the same day and initially was going to be heard on a motion to reconsider, but this motion was stood down to be heard at a later date.

Judge Griffith handed down the sentence of 10 years for the trafficking charge, informing Stuart that this charge was classified as a violent offense, and could be considered one of the “three strikes you’re out” offenses.

“You’re allowed three strikes; this is a small strike. If you commit (an offense classified as most serious) or two more serious offenses, the State can seek a life without parole sentence,” Judge Griffith told Stuart.

He told Stuart after the sentence was imposed, he had a limited number of days to file an appeal, if Stuart felt that there were any procedural errors.

The judge ended his comments by saying to Stuart, “Good luck to you.”

Following the sentencing Fernandez said the sentence was within the range recommended by the Attorney General’s Office.

“We told the judge seven to 15 years, and we believe this was an appropriate sentence, given all the circumstances,” Fernandez said. He added that Stuart has been cooperative with authorities and assisted in the investigation after law enforcement had investigated.

A statement from the Attorney General’s office following the hearing reads, “This Office is committed to and proven in fighting both public corruption and drug trafficking. The State Grand Jury case of Shane Stuart involved both,” Attorney General Alan Wilson said. He thanked all the agencies involved for their hard work, including SLED, the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sixth Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

State Grand Jury Chief Attorney Creighton Waters added, “This was as whirlwind a State Grand Jury investigation as we have done, and it was right in the middle of COVID. It was important that we get methamphetamine out of the county supervisor’s office as quickly as possible. Today’s result closes the chapter of Shane Stuart with firm but fair accountability”.

Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey said his office investigated the case, and his narcotics investigators played a significant role in the investigation.

“I’m glad that we’re getting these cases wrapped up. I think Mr. Stuart’s words today show what drug addiction can leas a person to do. Drug addiction has no boundaries. It doesn’t matter who you are, what socio-economic lifestyle you have, what race, or what position is.

“This was a black eye on our community that happened several years ago now, and although it’s been delayed for some time, I’m glad we are moving on…we have other cases associated with this investigation that we need to get on the court docket and get resolved. I think Chester is moving forward, and that has been my position all along, that what’s done is done — people who committed crimes need to be held accountable, and that’s what’s happening today. I’m looking forward to what the future holds for this community,” Sheriff Dorsey said.