Oconee Co. man faces drug, weapons charges

OCONEE COUNTY, SC (WSPA) – An Oconee County man was arrested last week on several drug and gun charges.

According to the Oconee County Sheriff's Office, Terry Dwayne Smith, 29, was arrested Friday on outstanding warrants for trafficking methamphetamine, fentanyl, possession of a firearm, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and possession of marijuana.

The charges were filed against Smith in May, when deputies said they were called to the scene where Smith accidentally shot himself in the leg.

When officers arrived on scene, they said a car was seen speeding out of a driveway. Officers stopped the car and found a handgun and bags inside. The handgun's magazine was not in the car, but it was later recovered at the scene of the shooting.

The driver, Makenna Leeanna Ryan, of Tiger, Ga., told deputies that a passenger, Sarah Margaret Whitten, 31, of Walhalla asked for a ride and placed the gun and bags in the car.

Through their investigation, officers said they learned that Whitten took a black bag from a nearby building and put it in the woods, then gave it to Ryan, who got in his car and attempted to leave .

Inside the bag, officers allegedly found approximately 8 ounces of methamphetamine and less than an ounce of fentanyl.

Ryan was arrested in May on charges of trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking fentanyl and accessory after the fact of an exempt crime.

According to her arrest warrant, she attempted to conceal evidence of several crimes by removing drugs and a gun from the scene.

Whitten was also arrested in May for accessory after the fact to an exempt crime.

Smith was taken from the scene of the shooting to the hospital for treatment. He was charged after officers said they learned he was seen carrying the bag that Ryan and Whitten were trying to remove from the scene.

Smith was given a $161,000 bond. Ryan remains in jail on $225,000 bail and Whitten was released from jail on $25,000 bail.