Man convicted in drug bust near Lake Wylie ran fentanyl conspiracy in SC jail, feds say

A Rock Hill man who already faces up to life in prison from the largest fentanyl seizure in York County history allegedly worked another drug conspiracy while locked up in jail, according to federal indictments and prosecutors.

Timothy Markee Gayton, 32, used a telephone in November while in custody to traffic fentanyl and cocaine, a federal indictment issued by the U.S. Attorney for South Carolina states. Gayton had been in jail near Columbia in Lexington County since February 2023 for the other charges, court records show.

A federal judge sentenced Gayton for the February 2023 charges in March. The indictment for the new charges was unsealed Friday after Gayton and 12 others from around South Carolina were indicted by a federal grand jury.

Gayton is accused of participating in a drug conspiracy from jail that attempted to distribute large quantities of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine, a written statement from prosecutors said. The conspiracy started in 2016 and went on through last week when arrests were made, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors allege Gayton helped move more than 10 pounds of cocaine and over 400 grams of fentanyl according to the indictments. He made drug deals on Nov. 25 and Dec. 13 despite being in jail, the indictments state.

Veronica Hill, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Columbia, confirmed Timothy Gayton was incarcerated at the time of the alleged offenses in the latest drug crimes.

The new charges also carry up to life in prison if he is convicted.

Authorities first arrested Gayton in February 2023 in the separate case involving more than 60 pounds of fentanyl and other drugs seized in October 2022 from a Lake Wylie area mobile home used as a secret drug lab.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy in that case in March and faces 10 years to life in prison at sentencing later this year. Four other York County men — including his twin brother, Timario Gayton — face the same potential penalty of 10 years up to life after pleading guilty in the Lake Wylie bust. The others convicted in the Lake Wylie bust are not named in the new indictments.