Gaffney man sentenced for drug trafficking
By TARA JENNINGS Ledger Staff Writer tara@gaffneyledger.com

A Gaffney man whom police have said was part of a local family drug ring was sentenced to 11 1/2 years Thursday after pleading guilty to trafficking drugs.

Shannon Davidson of Gaffney pleaded guilty in Spartanburg to 2nd-offense trafficking powder cocaine greater than 28 grams, a charge punishable by a sentence of seven to 30 years in prison. Davidson will have to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole. A trafficking charge is considered a serious, violent charge.

Assistant Seventh Circuit Solicitor Sarah Drawdy said Davidson was arrested following a traffic stop in Spartanburg for speeding. As the officer was talking with the female driver, he noticed a marijuana bud in plain view and also smelled the drug. He asked Davidson, who was the passenger, and the driver to step out of the car. During the search of the vehicle, Davidson fled from police but was apprehended quickly. Police located 61.17 grams of cocaine in the vehicle's glove compartment and 13 ounces, or 364.65 grams, of marijuana in the trunk. Drawdy said Davidson claimed the drugs were his.

Davidson, who was represented by defense attorney Beattie Ashmore, pleaded guilty as part of a plea agreement. The marijuana charge resulting from the traffic stop as well as possession of cocaine and marijuana charges in Cherokee County will be dropped by the Solicitor's Office as part of that agreement.

"We're glad he's gone and law enforcement is glad he's gone," Drawdy said. "We were just happy to send him to the Department of Corrections for a long time."

Local police have arrested two of Davidson's cousins for drug dealing in Gaffney. Alex Davidson remains at the Cherokee County Detention Center after his bond was denied. He is accused of trafficking crack cocaine on 10th Street. Allen Davidson was sentenced in May to 15 years in prison for trafficking crack cocaine, trafficking crack cocaine within a half mile of school, possession with intent to distribute alprazolam (Xanax) and possession with intent to distribute alprazolam within a half mile of a school.