Greenwood, S.C.; August 8, 2024 – A Greenwood man with ties to a Mexican drug cartel was sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday to charges stemming from several controlled buys of cocaine and methamphetamine, 8th Circuit Solicitor David M. Stumbo announced Thursday afternoon.
Moises Hernandez Almazon, 42, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of trafficking cocaine, second offense, and trafficking methamphetamine, second offense. Circuit Judge Eugene C. Griffith then sentenced Almazon to 20 years in prison. State law requires Almazon to serve a minimum of 85 percent of the sentence before being considered for parole.
In February and March of 2023, investigators with Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, State Law Enforcement Division, and Abbeville County Sheriff’s Office began a joint investigation into Almazon. Over the course of those two months, investigators purchased through either confidential informants or undercover officers just under 400 grams of cocaine. Some of the buys were for as much as 100 grams of illicit narcotics. In March 2023, investigators executed a search warrant at Almazon’s residence and located more than 1,000 grans of methamphetamine.
Deputy Solicitor Yates Brown handled the case for the state. Almazon was represented by Fred Spivey of the Greenwood County Bar.
Solicitor Stumbo praised the work of his staff along with investigators from SLED, GCSO, and ACSO in securing the conviction and lengthy prison sentence.
“I could not be more pleased with the effort and dedication of the investigators that put this cartel member behind bars for the next two decades,” Solicitor Stumbo said. “My office will continue to back our brothers and sisters in blue as they continue to fight the scourge of illegal drugs flooding the streets of our communities.”