Walhalla Man Sentenced to 13 years for Trafficking Methamphetamine and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.
A Walhalla man pled guilty on the eve of trial, and was sentenced to thirteen years in state prison following a drug investigation with a seizure of 22.29 grams of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime on July 27, 2026, in Oconee County announced Tenth Circuit Solicitor Micah E. Black.
Robert James Friesel Jr. of Walhalla, South Carolina pleaded guilty to Trafficking Methamphetamine 2nd offense, 10-28 grams, after a search warrant was executed at his residence at 628 Adams Sullivan Road in Walhalla on August 19, 2024. Lt. Anna Orr with the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office along with the assistance of additional law enforcement agencies executed the search warrant at the residence following an ongoing narcotics investigation. Execution of the search warrant yielded 22.29 grams of methamphetamine and a firearm.
This Trafficking Methamphetamine 2nd offense under South Carolina Law is considered both “violent” and “serious” and a “strike” under South Carolina’s “three strikes and you are out law.” Friesel Jr. must serve 85% of the thirteen-year sentence before he is eligible for community supervision.
Deputy Solicitor Christopher Beeco prosecuted the case for the state, with assistance of Investigator Jessica Sanders of the Tenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Solicitor Micah Black praised the efforts of his team and the deputies at the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office for their hard work on this case. “Another Oconee County drug dealer is heading to the Department of Corrections for a long prison sentence,” Black stated. “I am thankful for the hard work of these Oconee County Officers and my prosecutors who continue to put a dent in the narcotics enterprise in this county.”