Greenwood, S.C.; November 19, 2015 – Eighth Circuit Solicitor David Stumbo announced Thursday that a Ware Shoals man was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a Greenwood County jury found him guilty of five criminal charges stemming from a July 2015 criminal rampage that spanned three Greenwood business establishments, including the Chick-Fil-A Drive-Thru and Frank’s Car Wash on Montague Avenue.
The jury found Terrance O’Neil Frazier, 23, of Ware Shoals, guilty of one count each of use of a vehicle without permission with intent to deprive, breaking and entering into a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident, grand larceny over $10,000, and trafficking in methamphetamines between 10-28 grams.
Circuit Judge Eugene C. Griffith handed down the sentences at the conclusion of the four-day trial. Frazier will have to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before he is eligible for a release. The methamphetamine charge qualifies as a “strike” for purposes of the state three-strikes law.
Assistant Solicitors Brian Moroney and Micah Black handled the case for the state. Frazier represented himself during the proceeding. Judge Griffith appointed the circuit public defender to assist Frazier during the proceeding, on matters of procedure only.
Frazier was arrested in June after he stole a truck from a customer at the Chick-Fil-A Drive-Thru on the 72 Bypass, crashed it on Montague Avenue at Frank’s Car Wash, and stole a second vehicle that was being cleaned at the car wash. He then chased down a woman he claimed owed him money after passing the woman in traffic. The woman ran inside another local business, World Finance, and locked the door until law enforcement arrived on the scene.
After being placed under arrest, officers found approximately 20 grams of methamphetamine in Frazier’s pocket, which exceeds the weight threshold for trafficking methamphetamine under state law.
Stumbo praised the quick response of law enforcement and cogent work of Assistant Solicitors Moroney and Black in prosecuting the case.
“Fortunately, our local law enforcement officers responded quickly and effectively to stop this menace from wreaking any more havoc on the Greenwood community,” Stumbo said. “Our prosecutors did a fantastic job both preparing the case and presenting it to the jury. My office will continue to fight side by side with law enforcement to keep career criminals like Terrance Frazier off the streets of the Eighth Circuit.”