COLUMBIA, S.C. — Two inmates at Lieber Correctional Institution in Dorchester County have been sentenced in federal court for their roles in separate major drug trafficking rings run from inside the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC) prison using contraband cell phones.
Glenn Quanta Pernell, 41, had been serving two 25-year consecutive state sentences for drug trafficking when he was discovered to be overseeing the daily operations of a drug ring within Lieber. He had been employing a network of people, including his mother, Hattie Pernell, and his sister, Whitney Pernell, to purchase drugs from his Mexican drug suppliers, to deliver drugs to his customers, and to collect and store drug proceeds from the sales.
Pernell was sentenced to life in federal prison today after jury convicted him in August 2019 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin, in addition to several other drug-related charges. According to the evidence at trial, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Columbia Violent Gang Task Force (CVGTF) began investigating several Columbia-based drug dealers in 2016. Wiretaps on their phones revealed that the dealers were being supplied cocaine and heroin from an organization in Marion County.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s CVGTF, which is comprised of law enforcement officers from the FBI, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Columbia Police Department, Richland County Sheriff’s Department, Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, Lexington Police Department, Marion County Sheriff’s Department, Mullins Police Department, and the South Carolina National Guard, and with assistance from the South Carolina Department of Corrections and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Joseph Umphlett, Sr., 39, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute heroin and methamphetamine. His federal sentence will be served consecutive to a separate life sentence he is serving in SCDC.
The case against Umphlett was established in October 2015 when he was sentenced in Berkeley County General Sessions Court to life without parole for trafficking methamphetamine, his third serious drug conviction in state court.
While serving his life sentence in Lieber Correctional Institution, Umphlett began using contraband cell phones to lead a drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine throughout Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized over five kilograms of methamphetamine and over three kilograms of heroin.
Umphlett was indicted along with 11 co-defendants, including his mother, Valerie Collins. Collins was previously sentenced to 100 months in federal prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for her role in the conspiracy.
The case was investigated by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, South Carolina Department of Corrections, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, Summerville Police Department, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office, and Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.
