SC deputies face felony and misconduct charges following on-duty prank phone calls
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CHESTERFIELD, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A trio of Chesterfield County Sheriff’s deputies walked into the county jail on Monday to surrender to S.C. Law Enforcement Division agents. The men have been under state investigation since last week.
The deputies: First Sgt. Justin Reichard, Deputy Darien Roseau, and Deputy Killian Loflin are each charged with misconduct in office, criminal conspiracy, and breach of peace, according to the Chesterfield County Detention Center.
A source tells Queen City News Chief Investigative Reporter Jody Barr the arrests are related to prank phone calls made to other law enforcement agencies last week. SLED was called in to investigate and traced a phone number to identify the source of the calls.
SLED agents charged the three Chesterfield County Deputies with misconduct in office, criminal conspiracy, and breach of peace charges on Feb. 12, 2024. All three are free on no-cash bonds awaiting trial on the charges.
Sheriff Cambo Streater suspended the three last week, according to our source. Streater refused to confirm his decision to suspend the three when Barr contacted the sheriff Tuesday morning.
The sheriff would not comment and referred us to SLED’s public relations office, which Streater said would release a statement in the future. Streater released a statement on the CCSO Facebook page last week, telling the public he’d make a statement once the SLED investigation is finished.
“Earlier this week, I learned of possible misconduct by three of our deputies. Based on the nature of the allegations, I requested the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate. SLED has begun their inquiry and the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office is cooperating fully. I plan to make a formal statement once SLED completes their investigation,” said Streater in the statement posted to social media.
Although SLED completed its investigation with charges on Feb. 12, 2024, Sheriff Streater would not give details of the arrests of his deputies when contacted by QCN on Feb. 13 – nearly a day after the deputies bonded out of the county jail.
At 12:43 p.m. on Tuesday, SLED’s public relations office issued a press release, finally providing details of the allegations against the lawmen.
Here’s the verbatim of the allegations from the warrant:
“On Feb. 4, 2024…First Sgt. Justin Tyler Reichard, Sgt. Darien Roseau, and Deputy Killian Daniel Loflin did conspire to commit the offense of Misconduct in Office, to wit: While on duty, deputies knowingly reported five hoax emergencies within the municipalities of Cheraw, Chesterfield, McBee and Pageland. These hoax reports were telephoned to convenience stores or the respective municipal law enforcement agency and notified the call recipient of the location of a “dead body” within the municipalities. The hoax calls caused emergency responses from law enforcement and/or other emergency responders,” SLED Agent Ashley D. Anderson wrote in the warrants.
SLED interviewed all three deputies as part of the investigation, according to charging documents. They also described the three as “former” deputies.
Queen City News obtained police reports from Chesterfield and McBee Police in relation to these incidents, which described reports being called in of a dead body on railroad tracks, and the efforts to search for them. In one instance, other Chesterfield County deputies assisted in the search. In another instance, police obtained the phone number associated with one of the hoax calls, which led them to one of the former deputies now charged, who fully identified themselves and their employer.
If convicted of conspiracy under S.C. Code Sec. 16-17-410, the statute states the crime is a felony and carries up to a $5,000 fine and up to five years imprisonment. Misconduct in office carries a penalty of up to one year in jail if convicted. Breach of peace is a misdemeanor and carries a fine of up to $500 and no more than 30 days in the county jail.
Reichard was recently promoted and in December, was awarded the sheriff’s office’s 2023 ACE and Drug Interdiction Award. Loflin was first sworn in as a jailer by former Sheriff J.D. Dixon in August 2021 and promoted to deputy in September 2022.
Roseau was sworn in as a deputy in May of 2020 by former Sheriff J.D. Dixon. In January 2023, Sheriff Cambo Streater promoted Roseau to the sergeant of the office’s “C Shift.”
The three agreed to surrender to SLED agents at the county jail Monday afternoon ahead of the magistrate’s office’s 5 p.m. bond hearings. Sources tell QCN SLED agents requested personal recognizance bonds for the three, which is an unsecured, no cash bond.
