The Midlands' local crews: what the court record names

Public court and law-enforcement records describe local and hybrid street gangs across the Midlands, from Columbia and Lexington to Newberry, Chester, Lancaster, York and Aiken counties. Only a few are named in public sources, including Paid Family, GPAN, the Cross Bridge Gangsters, the Roundtree Circle Gang and, by federal indictment, Dirty Money Entertainment. Most federal releases identify defendants as gang members without naming the group. [1][2][3][4][5][6]

Key South Carolina cases

Paid Family. On 2018-03-21, the Attorney General announced State Grand Jury indictments of 15 people in Lexington County and three in Richland County. The indictments allege that a gang called Paid Family brought marijuana into Lexington County, and the investigation began after a March 2017 shooting death at a Two Notch Road nightclub. [1]

Chester County. The Herald reported in 2017 that members of the Roundtree Circle Gang testified about a plot to rob a rival gang in the case of a Chester councilman's killing. A 2019-09-20 USAO-SC release described a Chester defendant as a validated member of a criminal street gang. On 2026-03-26, the Attorney General announced State Grand Jury murder and conspiracy indictments of Kylynn Jackson and Rajai Jones in the July 5, 2022 killing of Darius Minter, alleged as the culmination of retaliatory shootings between rival gangs. [4][7][8]

Lancaster County. Lancaster police stated that gangs were linked to 90% of several categories of violent and property cases in 2023. After the September 4, 2024 killing of Jelani Jackson on Clinton Avenue and a string of retaliatory shootings, the Sheriff's Office reported 16 arrests, including five juveniles, on 2025-01-03. On 2025-04-04, the Lancaster police chief described an April 2025 shootout inside the Walmart off Highway 9 as an altercation between two groups believed to be gang-affiliated. [9][10][11]

Cayce and Columbia. On 2024-01-10, Cayce Police announced seven arrests in a gang-related robbery shooting at the Abbott Arms Apartments on December 11, 2023. On 2025-12-11, USAO-SC reported the sentencing of Taylor Molic Morris of Columbia, whom the Midlands Gang Task Force had identified as a validated gang member, for a June 11, 2023 nightclub shooting on Broad River Road. [12][13]

Inside SCDC

Public sourcing on these crews inside state prisons is limited. The Attorney General's 2026-03-26 release states that Chester County defendant Rajai Jones was serving an SCDC sentence for voluntary manslaughter when he was indicted. USAO-SC reported that Grooms coordinated drug distributions over recorded jail phones while in federal custody. [8][14]

Where it stands

Public cases from 2025 and 2026 show continued prosecution of Midlands gang cases: a Kershaw County gang member was sentenced on 2025-02-20, the DME indictment was announced in October 2025, and the Chester County State Grand Jury indictments followed on 2026-03-26. None of these releases states a claim of national lineage for the local crews involved. [15][5][8]

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