North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By Ruben Lowman
A 32-year old resident of the Longs community has been sentenced to two decades in prison following a series of drug-related arrests involving the potent synthetic opioid fentanyl.
Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson announced that Christopher Vereen of Longs entered guilty pleas last week to charges of first-offense trafficking of fentanyl between four and fourteen grams and second-offense possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.
The legal proceedings concluded with a significant sentence aimed at addressing the repeated nature of the defendant’s criminal activity within the Horry County area.
The case against Vereen was built on two separate law enforcement encounters occurring over a thirteen-month span.
According to reports from the Solicitor’s Office, officers with the Horry County Police Department first conducted a traffic stop on Vereen on Nov. 23, 2024, during which they discovered fentanyl inside his vehicle.
Despite the initial legal repercussions, Vereen was apprehended again on Dec. 19, 2025, during a second traffic stop where officers once again located the dangerous narcotic, which has become a significant problem in rural communities across the country and locally.
These recurring incidents involving Vereen led to the more severe second-offense classification for the distribution charges.
During the sentencing hearing, the Honorable Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Culbertson handed down a fifteen-year prison term for the trafficking conviction and an additional five-year term for the possession with intent to distribute charge.
Judge Culbertson ordered that these two sentences run consecutively, resulting in the total twenty-year commitment. Assistant Solicitor Blaine Massey, who prosecuted the case, emphasized the severity of the charges given the quantity of fentanyl involved and the defendant’s history of drug-related offenses.
Vereen’s sentencing marks another step in the local judiciary’s efforts to combat the distribution of fentanyl, a substance frequently linked to the ongoing overdose crisis in South Carolina.
With the court’s decision to mandate consecutive sentencing, officials have signaled a strict stance on repeat offenders involved in the trafficking of high-risk narcotics.
Vereen was officially processed into the state prison system immediately following the conclusion of the Monday morning hearing.
