A Columbia man who was juror in a drug trafficking trial that ended in a hung jury pleaded guilty to taking a bribe from the defendant, the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
On Tuesday, Cleo Canty pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction of justice, accepting of bribes by juror and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
While the 23-year-old Canty — who was sentenced under South Carolina’s Youthful Offender Act — was ordered to serve a prison term not to exceed 5 years, Judge Daniel Coble suspended that sentence to 2 years of probation and 150 hours of community service, according to the release.
The charges stem from an investigation that began after Canty served as a juror in the trial of Leonard Washington, from April 26 to April 27, 2021, the solicitor’s office said. Washington was on trial for a heroin trafficking charge, according to the release.
Washington’s trial ended in a hung jury “solely due to the bribe that Canty accepted,” the solicitor’s office said.
The investigation into Canty’s actions began Nov. 1, 2021, when members of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department met with a confidential source who had information regarding Canty and Washington, according to the release. The source said that Canty approached Washington during the second day of trial at Drake’s Duck-In’s Main Street location and offered to persuade the jury to acquit him in exchange for a bribe, the solicitor’s office said.
When confronted by sheriff’s deputies, Canty told them that an individual associated with Washington approached him after the first day of trial, asking if he was “going to do his boy (Washington) right,” according to the release.
Although the confidential source and Canty’s accounts differed, video footage from the restaurant captured an exchange of money between Washington and Canty, corroborating the bribery allegations, the solicitor’s office said.
Specific information about the amount of money in the bribe was not available.
On Dec. 8, 2021, deputies arrested Canty at his apartment, where they found found marijuana, THC candies and a gun, according to the release.
Washington ultimately entered a guilty plea to trafficking heroin and bribery charges, which resulted in him being sentenced to 18 years in prison by Judge Clifton Newman, the solicitor’s office said.
“The defendants sought to circumvent the rule of law and undermine our entire criminal justice system,” Solicitor Byron Gipson said in the release. “Despite the defendants’ efforts, the criminal justice system is not and will not be controlled by the criminal element.”
Assistant Solicitor Nicolas Fowler prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. Stanley Myers was listed as Canty’s attorney, according to Richland County court records.
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