A  murder case that shook up residents of Newberry County is ready to go before a grand jury. On June 2, a white man, Gregory Collins, allegedly shot and killed his black co-worker, Anthony Hill, then proceeded to tie his body with rope to the back of his pick-up truck and drag him for more than 10 miles.

Now, nearly a month later, prosecutors say they are ready to make the case for indictment. Collins is currently in custody, and if convicted, faces life in prison. Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster says, “We are working together to insure the highest level of law enforcement services to the people affected.”

Brought in to assist in the case is the Department of Justice Community Relations Service, which is the Department’s “peacemaker” for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences in race, color and national origin.

Foster says charges have been filed, but federal, state and local agencies are still investigating the case, including the motivation of the crime.

Another group of men will serve time in federal prison for trafficking drugs from Mexico to Upstate South Carolina.

A federal jury in Spartanburg returned guilty verdicts last week against six men in connection with transporting thousands of pounds of marijuana from Mexico to Texas to Greenville, South Carolina, for distribution throughout the Southeast U.S.

Evidence at trial indicates that in the Fall of 2009, agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Greenville tracked these men through electronic surveillance, witness interviews and confidential sources.

In December of 2009, numerous law enforcement found approximately 120 pounds of marijuana, three firearms, approximately $17,000 in U.S. currency either in the residence or near the residence of the men.

SLED, DEA and local law enforcement have had to step up their battle on drug trafficking based out of Mexico—a network that reaches rural areas throughout the South.