Columbia, SC -On Thursday, United States Attorney Beth Drake announced that three Galivants Ferry men were sentenced in federal court on drug and weapon charges.
According to the release, Ephifanio Castillo-Pacheco, age 44, Isidro Camacho-Castillo, age 20, and Samuel Zepeda-Gonzalez, age 60, were in federal court in Florence, South Carolina this week. United States District Judge Bryan Harwell sentenced Castillo-Pacheco to 74 months imprisonment, Camacho-Castillo to 108 months imprisonment, and Zepeda-Gonzalez to 51 months. Judge Harwell also ordered the forfeiture to the government of $177,989 seized from the defendants.
The evidence presented at the guilty plea hearing established that on March 8, 2017, during the execution of a federal search warrant, agents took cocaine, guns and a large amount of cash from a home in Galivants Ferry.
During the search, Camacho-Castillo was in one of the bedrooms along with a loaded Glock .380 caliber pistol, a loaded Kassnar Imports 9mm pistol, and approximately 45 grams of cocaine. In the bedroom belonging to Castillo-Pacheco, agents found approximately 14 grams of cocaine, 9mm and .380 caliber ammunition. Castillo-Pacheco and Zepeda-Gonzalez were both located in the living room where they were counting $177,989 in cash. Agents learned that Zepeda-Gonzalez had been paid to transport the cash to an unknown individual in Texas.
The case was investigated by agents of ICE-Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the Horry County Police Department, the South Carolina Highway Patrol and SLED. Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office handled the case.
