Brooklyn Man, Who Was Fugitive for Eight Years, Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison for His Role in Heroin Conspiracy

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA -Dockim Deeshawn McKnight, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 5 years in prison after earlier pleading guilty in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin.

McKnight was one of 10 defendants charged in April 2014, following a series of court-authorized, DEA-monitored wiretaps over several telephones in the Columbia area. Six of the 10 defendants were arrested in April 2014, while 4 remained fugitives, including McKnight. Two fugitives were arrested in 2017 in Texas. McKnight remained a fugitive until his May 2022 arrest by the United States Marshals Service in Brooklyn, New York. The remaining fugitive was arrested in September 2022 in Concord, North Carolina, is currently awaiting trial, and is innocent until and unless proven guilty.

The 2013 investigation revealed that a group of individuals in the Columbia area were obtaining heroin from various sources outside of South Carolina and then distributing it in the Midlands. Evidence indicated that the suppliers were initially getting the heroin in packages from India. Several packages destined for Columbia and containing heroin were intercepted by law enforcement during the investigation. Evidence further showed that the co-defendants later traveled to New York to obtain heroin and transported it back to Columbia, where it was distributed. In June 2013, New York authorities seized 155 grams of heroin from McKnight and his girlfriend/co-defendant Jessany Lyons while they were preparing to board a bus back to South Carolina.

Eight of McKnight's co-defendants earlier pleaded guilty to their role in the drug conspiracy here in South Carolina and were sentenced as follows:

• Eric Shawn Bradley of Columbia was sentenced to 210 months in prison with 8 years of court-ordered supervision;
• Michael Glover of Columbia was sentenced to 324 months in prison with 8 years of court-ordered supervision;
• Jihad Salahadeen Pollard of Columbia was sentenced to 121 months in prison with 4 years of court-ordered supervision;
• Kenneth Crawford, Jr. of Washington, D.C., and formerly of Columbia was sentenced to 120 months in prison with 8 years of court-ordered supervision;
• Charles Raheem Bradley of Columbia was sentenced to 57 months in prison with 6 years of court-ordered supervision;
• Anthony Troy Glover of Columbia was sentenced to 120 months in prison with 8 years of court-ordered supervision;
• Larry Grover Bookman of Columbia was sentenced to 70 months in prison with 6 years of court-ordered supervision; and
• Jessany Lyons of Far Rockaway, New York, was sentenced to 37 months in prison with 3 years of court-ordered supervision.

The New York heroin suppliers were charged and convicted by the United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of New York for their role in the drug conspiracy.

Senior United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. sentenced McKnight to 60 months in prison, to be followed by a 4-year term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) High Intensity Drug Task Force, which was comprised of agents and officers from the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), United States Secret Service (USSS), Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff's Department, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Lexington County Sheriff's Department, Kershaw County Sheriff's Office, Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, and the Fifth Circuit Solicitor's Office. The United States Marshals Service and the Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force-Charlotte Office assisted in locating the 4 fugitives. Assistant United States Attorney Stacey D. Haynes is prosecuting the case.

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