Mugshot of Charles “Derrec” Becker. (Provided by Lexington County Sheriff’s Department)
COLUMBIA — The chief spokesman for South Carolina’s Emergency Management Division is accused of distributing meth in the parking lot of the agency that leads natural disaster response in the state.
Lexington County Sheriff’s deputies obtained a warrant for Charles “Derrec” Becker’s arrest the afternoon of Sept. 19, 2024. Columbia police arrested Becker at his home the next day (Friday) and transferred him to Lexington County. He is charged with possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s incident report.
Becker, 43, declined to comment when reached Tuesday by the SC Daily Gazette.
Lexington County deputies were called to Emergency Management Division headquarters in West Columbia on Sept. 17, 2024, after a zippered pouch was found in the parking lot.
According to a statement from sheriff’s department spokesman Adam Myrick, security camera footage shows someone who appears to be Becker setting down the pouch, found to contain more than 2 grams of meth and other unspecified drug paraphernalia, and walking away while on a phone call.
Becker was released from the Lexington County Detention Center on Saturday morning with the promise to appear in court or be forced to make $10,000 in bond payments.
The agency did not immediately return email or phone messages Tuesday from the Gazette.
Becker, a former reporter, has been a spokesman for the Emergency Management Division since 2008 and chief of public information since 2017.