Local and state law enforcement agencies conduct crime suppression sweep in Berkeley County

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD)—On Friday, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office and several agencies conducted a crime suppression sweep tackling community drug, domestic, and gun-related crimes.

“Right now, what we’re doing is we’re out here keeping everybody safe. We’re locking up bad guys and girls and ensuring that we keep the streets in Berkeley County safe for the citizens,” said Sgt Paul Yacobozzi, a Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Each deputy was assigned different tasks. Some monitored the roadways for speeders, served warrants, and went to high-crime communities to keep the public safe by getting criminals off the street. 

At the first stop, deputies arrested a man who created a traffic infraction and found he had drugs, a weapon, and an illegal tag on his vehicle. 

“We’re going to field test everything to make sure it is drugs before making a charge, but also, it seems like the driver of the motorcycle might have a warrant out of Dorchester County confirming that right now, and we’re going to go from there, but also tag doesn’t match the motorcycle on top of the drug says she’s also getting some traffic tickets as well,” said Yacobozzi.

Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said he started this initiative to make residents feel safer in the community, and he believes this plan will do just that. 

We are community-oriented, but a proactive law-enforcement agency is always proactive. We don’t wait for the calls. We go out. We try to intercept the criminals, the drug dealers. The people are out here, causing problems for our citizens, and I think that’s the largest part of what we do. We are a proactive agency, and it helps reduce crime when you are proactive. 

Law enforcement officers plan to patrol until 1 a.m., hoping to have an update on the number of arrests and tickets made by Monday.