Public court, prosecutor and news sources name more than two dozen neighborhood crews across Charleston, Dorchester, Colleton, Orangeburg, Jasper and Allendale counties, most named for a street, subdivision or community. Federal cases have targeted West Cash, the Dorchester Terrace Crew, the Wildboys and the Cowboys, and a 2025 North Charleston case ended with 18 defendants sentenced to 144 years in total. In January 2026 the Hampton County sheriff called a series of shootings gang-related without naming a group. [1][2][3][4][5][6]
Origins
Public sources describe most Lowcountry crews as neighborhood groups named for a street, subdivision or community. A 2001 National Drug Intelligence Center assessment listed the Ashley Shores Crew, Charlie Town Clique and Port City Posse among North Charleston gangs responsible for assaults and other violent crime. [7]
Federal prosecutors stated that the Wildboys originated in the Green Pond area of Walterboro and that the Cowboys originated in the Eastside, or Brittlebank, area of Walterboro. The Department of Justice stated that the Cowboys had operated since at least 2009. [3][4][8]
Footprint in South Carolina
Charleston County sources name West Cash (West Ashley), the Dorchester Terrace Crew, also called DTC or 4-mile (North Charleston), the Romney Street Killers of Athens Court and the East Side Posse of the Hanover Street area on the Charleston peninsula. [1][2][9][10]
The Post and Courier reported Young Goons and Young Gunnas in North Charleston, Summa Town Bound in Summerville, Town of Lincolnville (TOL) on the Charleston-Dorchester line, Never Switch Up in North Charleston and Ladson, and Beach Gang and Down the Island on James Island. [11][12][13][14]
In Colleton County, the Attorney General's Office identified the Sand Hill gang of Ritter and the Dooley Hill gang of the Gerideau Street area of Walterboro. The Post and Courier reported on 2009-04-20 that sheriff's investigators had identified some 20 gangs in the county. [15][16]
In Orangeburg County, the Times and Democrat on 2012-03-13 reported sheriff's detectives listing CBR (Cannon Bridge Road), the 400 Boys (Highway 400), G-4 (Roosevelt Gardens) and EDC (Edisto Drive Crew). In Jasper County, the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor described a Hardeeville defendant as a member of the Outlaws street gang. In Allendale County, a 2008 SLED operation report named Cross the Track Thugs (CTT). [17][18][19]
Structure and organization
The U.S. Attorney's Office described the 2025 North Charleston case as a gang with a leader, a primary enforcer and a primary supplier, using an abandoned community center as a distribution hub. The 2020 DTC indictment alleged members obtained bulk narcotics from interstate sources and redistributed them to street-level dealers. [5][2]
Federal court records summarized by the Department of Justice state that the Wildboys and Cowboys were aligned for a time and shared rivals, including the Dooley Hill gang. A North Charleston police official described O Block Money Gang (OBMG) as a neighborhood clique along Dorchester Road. [3][4][20]
Identifiers and symbols
The Department of Justice stated that Cowboys members used hand signs shaped like a "b," which also showed an affiliation with the Bloods, and tattoos reading "Cowboy(s)" or "GMC." It stated that Wildboys members used Facebook and YouTube from 2009 to 2015 to threaten rivals and display gang colors, tattoos and hand signs. The Post and Courier reported on 2014-01-03 that Summa Town Bound members threw up four fingers to show solidarity. [4][3][11]
Notable South Carolina cases
On 2011-03-31 a jury in Beaufort County General Sessions Court convicted Haskell Jevor Simmons in the 2009-11-09 Gerideau Street drive-by shooting attributed to the Sand Hill gang; the Attorney General's Office reported a life sentence for accessory before the fact of murder. Federal prosecutors charged nine Cowboys members and associates on 2016-02-09; Wildboys member Devin Brown was sentenced to 20 years on 2017-11-15. [15][4][21]
On 2018-02-23 the Ninth Circuit Solicitor announced a jury conviction in the Mother's Day gang gunfight and murder tied to the Dorchester Terrace and Waylyn subdivisions. On 2020-05-14 federal prosecutors charged 12 defendants in the DTC case, and on 2021-09-01 they announced a 46-count indictment against alleged West Cash members in Operation Cash Out. [22][2][1]
On 2025-08-19 the U.S. Attorney's Office reported that 18 defendants in a North Charleston ring received 144 years in total, with Fredrick McCray sentenced to 30 years. Seizures included 26 firearms, four of them fully automatic machineguns. [5]
Inside SCDC
The 2024-03-22 Walterboro takedown release stated that defendant Trevor Courtney Fishburne, Jr. was charged with a drug conspiracy while serving a sentence in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. No public source reviewed describes how named Lowcountry crews organize inside SCDC. [23]
Current status
On 2026-01-14 WJCL reported that Hampton County Sheriff Anthony Russell called a series of shootings in the Estill, Furman and Gifford areas gang-related and requested FBI assistance; five people had been shot since the start of 2026, one fatally. No gang was named. On 2026-05-20 the U.S. Attorney's Office announced that 26 people had been charged in a Lowcountry gang drug trafficking investigation extending into Georgia and Mexico. On 2026-07-05 Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner said it was too early to conclude whether the July 4 Coligny Beach shooting, which wounded eight, was gang-related. [6][24][25]
