Arrested on a drug-possession charge, he stayed in jail for more than a year. When the drug analysis on his case was complete, it was learned the substance wasn’t drugs after all.

“What happened was they were waiting on the drug analysis,” 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe said. “When it came back, it was something akin to baking soda.”

A very real case, a very real individual who stayed in jail for a year of his life because he couldn’t make bail. That’s about to change for the 1st Judicial Circuit and surrounding areas.

It’s called a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer, or GLC for short. It was unveiled this week during a press conference at the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety, the new home for the GLC.

Simplified, it’s a high-tech piece of equipment that its basic use is to separate the individual chemicals in a sample offered for analysis. In the hands of police, it’s used for drug analysis.

“This will allow us to analyze drug samples here in Orangeburg,” said Chief Wendell Davis of the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety. “We won’t have to send them to SLED anymore.”

About the size of your grandmother’s cedar chest, the $110,000 unit was obtained through a federal grant awarded Claflin University and ODPS with the help of 6th District Congressman James Clyburn.

“What a difference it can make when you bring together the resources of the community,” Claflin University President Dr. Henry Tisdale said. “This is a great story where community entities are coming together to address what I call the quality-of-life issues.”

The instrument can analyze nearly every known illegal narcotic typically found on the street, including heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.

“I really see this as a real opportunity to fight crime,” Orangeburg Mayor Paul Miller said.

Up and running for about two weeks, the first drug-analysis reports went out on Tuesday. Officials say, however, that if need arises, an analysis could be completed within a week in an emergency.

“We would be sending drugs up to SLED” for analysis, Davis said. “It could take up to three years to get them back.”

It’s the quick turn-around time that is the biggest benefit to the community, officials say. An individual charged with drug offenses can get out on bond and, before his case goes to court a year later, he can commit two or three more offenses.

That scenario can feasibly be a thing of the past now.

“He would commit more serious crimes because he knew he was going to court anyway,” Davis said.

It wasn’t too many years ago that SLED handled all drug analysis for the more than 240 municipalities in the 46 counties. With Orangeburg coming on-line, the total of drug analysis labs in South Carolina climbs to six, excluding SLED’s lab.

There are similar labs in Richland County, Lexington County, Aiken, Charleston, Greenville and Beaufort.

Officials say the ripple effect of a new lab in the Garden City is that the number of drug samples handled by SLED will be reduced, therefore reducing turn-around time for those municipalities who still utilize SLED’s facilities.

However, that reduction of cases for Columbia won’t create the need for an “out of business” sign on Broad River Road anytime soon.

“This will take a lot of pressure off SLED, which is augmented by the rest of the satellite labs,” forensic chemist David Martin said. “But, no, they’re still handling a lot of drug analysis.”

A 1990 biology and 1997 chemistry graduate of the University of South Carolina, Martin is SLED-certified for drug analysis. He joined the ODPS in March.

“A good round number would probably be 120 cases a month,” Martin said of the lab’s capabilities. “Maybe 100 to 120, depending on the type of case.”

Another benefit seen by officials is reducing the backlog of drug cases in the court system and getting a higher rate of prosecution. Hard-to-find witnesses or those who have moved away over time can severely jeopardize a case.

“This is a much-needed instrument,” Orangeburg County Sheriff Larry Williams said. “In my 24 years of law enforcement experience, this is the day we get caught up.”

Davis agrees, saying the drug dealer who would get out on bond and go back in business will no longer have that certain luxury – time.

“He’s going to have to pay the piper now,” Davis said. “It’s as simple as that.”

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

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