Pee Dee and Grand Strand crews on the public record

Public sources name a small number of local and hybrid crews in the Pee Dee and Grand Strand, including the West Marion Up Top Soldiers and a 2019 Florence list, the Down West Boys of Marlboro County and the Cedar Branch organization of Horry County. Federal and state prosecutions since 2008 have targeted these groups. In 2026, the FBI tied many of nine Dillon County shootings to a gang feud that public sources do not name. [1][2][3][4][5]

Key South Carolina cases

On 2008-05-02, nine members of the West Marion Up Top Soldiers, a Florence County gang, pleaded guilty to federal drug conspiracy charges. On 2009-08-10, Marlboro County deputies and Bennettsville police named seven members or affiliates of the Down West Boys on armed robbery, conspiracy and weapons charges. [2][3]

On 2015-12-14, a Florence Division grand jury charged nine people in a 22-count drug indictment that grew out of an investigation of neighborhood street gangs in Hartsville. On 2021-11-04, federal prosecutors announced charges against nine defendants in Florence after a multi-year operation against several sets of a violent street gang the release did not name. [6][7]

In Operation Broken Branch, announced 2020-06-30, more than 200 officers arrested 23 people charged federally in a drug trafficking organization based in the Cedar Branch area of Horry County. The FBI Pee Dee Safe Streets Gang Task Force led the investigation. On 2022-03-14, the U.S. Attorney's Office reported that all 30 defendants had pleaded guilty and been sentenced. The longest sentence was 180 months, for Teontric Jackson of Loris. [8][4]

On 2020-05-17, two rival groups from the Chesterfield County area exchanged gunfire across traffic on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach. Anthony Griffin of Pageland was sentenced to eight years on 2024-01-23 after a guilty plea to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature. Co-defendants from Cheraw and Pageland received six to 11 years. [9]

Where it stands

On 2026-06-26, the FBI Columbia field office offered $10,000 for information on nine Dillon County shootings that have killed five people since March 2026. Officials said many of the shootings are tied to a gang feud that began in March 2026. The Dillon County Sheriff's Office leads the case. No gang names and no arrests tied to the feud were reported. [5]

On 2026-08-24, a Horry County jury convicted Franklin Vereen-Price of Little River and Sean Page Jr. of Conway of murder, first-degree burglary and conspiracy in the 2023-12-15 home invasion killing of a Loris-area man. Both men received life without parole. The prosecutor called them "known gang members" but named no gang. On 2026-08-06, the Sumter County Sheriff's Office said it believes gang members killed a 20-year-old man whose body was found on 2026-08-01. It named no suspects. [10][11]

The full profile, with every source, the county records and a dated timeline, is on the group page.