Attorney General Alan Wilson announces State Grand Jury indicts 5 people for public corruption and contraband smuggling at McCormick Correctional Institution

(COLUMBIA, SC) - South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson announced today that the South Carolina State Grand Jury has issued indictments of five South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) sworn officers for their alleged participation in lucrative conspiracies to smuggle large amounts of contraband, including marijuana, other illicit drugs, and cell phones, into the McCormick Correctional Institution. These indictments followed a multi-jurisdictional investigation with cooperation among a number of law enforcement agencies in the area. These indictments arose from a State Grand Jury investigation known as “Gatekeeper”.

The State Grand Jury returned five indictments alleging multiple but connected charges and conspiracies relating to corruption of office and smuggling of dangerous contraband to inmates at the McCormick facility. 

“As I’ve said many times, a prison is no place for a cell phone. Illegal cell phones and the contraband trade drive not only a highly lucrative black market, but also contribute to gang power, gang rivalries, and gang violence both inside and outside the prison walls,” Attorney General Wilson said. “The Attorney General’s Office has an ongoing and extensive partnership with SLED and SCDC, and we will continue to aggressively root out corruption within the prison system and seek justice for anyone who violates their oaths of office. No one is above the law.”

"It's always disappointing when a law enforcement officer breaks the public trust," SCDC Director Bryan Stirling said. "We are working hard to make sure all of these defendants are fully prosecuted."

The investigation has thus far returned five indictments covering five defendants, the charges listed below against the named individuals:

     (1) Brittany Marie Pixley
          2022-GS-47-27 (McCormick County) (Superseding Indictment)
              i. Misconduct in Office (4 counts): 0-10 years
             ii. Sexual Misconduct with an Inmate: 0-10 years
            iii. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
            iv. Money Laundering, value $300 to $20,000 (2 counts): 0-5 years and up to $250,000 or twice the                  value of financial transactions, whichever greater

     (2) Judy Willis Mather
          2022-GS-47-32 (McCormick County)
              i. Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years
             ii. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
            iii. Money Laundering, value greater than $100,000: 0-20 years and up to $250,000 or twice the                         value of financial transactions, whichever greater

     (3) Shaquaila Ewnique Morgan
          2022-GS-47-31 (McCormick County) (Superseding Indictment)
              i. Misconduct in Office (4 counts): 25-30 years and $200,000
             ii. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
            iii. Money Laundering: Money Laundering, value $300 to $20,000: 0-5 years and up to $250,000 or                     twice the value of financial transactions, whichever greater

     (4) Dion T. Gaines
          2023-GS-47-XX (McCormick County)
             i. Misconduct in Office: 0-10 years
            ii. Criminal Conspiracy: 0-5 years or $5,000
           iii. Money Laundering, value $300 to $20,000 (2 counts): 0-5 years and up to $250,000 or twice the                    value of financial transactions, whichever greater
           iv. Ethics Violation: 0-10 years and $10,000

     (5) George Stevenson Leverette
          2023-GS-47-XX (Edgefield County)
             i. Trafficking Methamphetamine, 100-200 grams: 25 years and $50,000 (124.75 grams of                                methamphetamine confiscated)
            ii. Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance (Amphetamine): 0-6 months and $1,000
           iii. Unlawful Possession of Prescription Medication (Sildenafil): 0-2 years and $500
           iv. Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Violent Crime: 5 years in addition to the                         punishment provided for the principal crime

Bond will be set shortly for Defendants Gaines and Leverette. The remaining defendants received various surety bonds to ensure their future appearances in court.

The case was investigated by the South Carolina State Grand Jury, which was assisted in this case by a partnership of the Attorney General’s State Grand Jury Division, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of the Inspector General, SCDC Criminal Prosecution Division, McCormick County Sheriff’s Office, and the Edgefield County Sheriff’s Office. The cases will be prosecuted by Assistant Deputy Attorney General David Fernandez, Assistant Attorney General Christina Allard, Special Assistant Attorney General Stephen Lunsford, Special Assistant Attorney General Margaret Scott, and State Grand Jury Division Chief Attorney Creighton Waters. 

Attorney General Wilson stressed that all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are proven guilty in a court of law.