JURY CONVICTS FORMER LAKE CITY POLICE SERGEANT

FLORENCE - A jury has convicted former Lake City Police Sgt. Shanita
McKnight of drug trafficking and extortion charges after a five-day
federal trial. The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about
three and a half hours before handing down the verdict Tuesday
evening. A male alternate juror was present during the trial but he
was dismissed Tuesday by U.S. District Court Judge Terry L. Wooten
after the 12 jurors said they were capable of deliberating.

McKnight will be sentenced later. She faces a maximum penalty of 10
years to life in prison and fines ranging from $4 million to $8
million. She also faces a maximum penalty of a $250,000 fine and/or 20
years in prison for the extortion charge.

After the guilty verdict on drug trafficking charge was read, McKnight
put her head down on the defense table and cried.

After the the second verdict was handed down, she was turned around
several times to look at her family and supporters seated behind her
in the courtroom. McKnight's attorney, Joseph Henry of Columbia, told
Wooten his client has lupus and other physical ailments and asked that
she be allowed to remain out on bond until her sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Debbie Barbier of the Columbia office, who
prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Alfred W. Bethea Jr.
of the Florence office, said she had no objection to McKnight being
taken to a medical detention facility.

McKnight is considered a a flight risk, however, given the amount of
jail time she's facing, Barbier said.

Wooten said he might have considered allowing her to stay out on bond
if she had only been convicted on the extortion charge.

Her drug conviction falls under the mandatory detention provisions of
federal law, though, Wooten said.

That means McKnight must be detained until she's sentenced. Wooten
also ordered U.S Marshals to make sure McKnight would be in a
protected place because of her status as a former police officer.
Henry said after the the trial he understands U.S. Marshals will take
her to a medical detention facility.

"Of course we disagree with the verdict in the case. We believe that
the evidence was not sufficient for a conviction on this matter," he
said. "We believe this is something that should not have happened." An
appeal is something Henry said he will have to discuss with McKnight.
"We haven't made a decision at this time, of course, because the
verdict has just been rendered," he said.

Barbier said she feels justice was served in the matter. "I believe
she was found guilty because she is guilty," she said. "Public
corruption is a priority in our office. We want to make sure people
can have trust and confidence in law enforcement, and when things like
this happen, it erodes the public trust." Barbier said this has been a
very successful long-term public corruption investigation because of
the efforts of the Florence County Sheriff's Office, State Law
Enforcement Division and FBI Special Agent Vince Flamini. During her
closing argument, Barbier used a Powerpoint presentation to show the
jury a diagram with the names of several people. The diagram depicted
a conspiracy and even "a slight participation in this conspiracy makes
you guilty," she said.

"Shanita McKnight had more than a slight participation," Barbier said.
During his closing argument, Henry said the prosecution put up "one of
the shoddiest cases he'd ever seen." He said the jury shouldn't rely
on testimony of the witnesses who were criminals.

"If I'm willing to commit a crime, what's to stop me from lying?"
Henry asked the jury.

The convicted felons who testified were looking for a recommendation
for a reduction in their sentences, Henry said.

He also asked how authorities knew Mamie Lou's nightclub was a drug
haven if they never made any arrests there.

In her response to Henry's argument, Barbier said the lack of drug
arrests is precisely the reason why McKnight was on trial.

"If all of (the witnesses) were lying, why wouldn't they just make up
a story about them selling her a kilo of cocaine?" Barbier asked the
jury. The issue of reductions in sentences also doesn't explain the
testimony of witness Brenda Elmore Black, who hasn't been convicted of
anything and isn't facing any charges, Barbier said. Black testified
she would work at Mamie Lou's doing odd jobs in exchange for crack
crumbs, the residue left after crack cocaine is cooked.

After four days of testimony, Barbier rested the government's case
Monday afternoon after presenting more than a dozen witnesses. Henry
did not present any witnesses in the case.