Spartanburg Sheriff Wright says deputy plotted to sneak contraband into county jail (2024)

SPARTANBURG — The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office arrested one of its deputies on charges he conspired to smuggle contraband into the jail.

Joey Ghant, a 40-year-old native of Chesnee, is charged with misconduct in office, a misdemeanor, and accepting a bribe, a felony.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office hired Ghant in April 2023, and he received his certification as a Class 2 officer at the end of October, according to Criminal Justice Academy records.

It was his first law enforcement position in South Carolina, and it ended after less than a year on the job.

“I’m about as aggravated as you can get,” Sheriff Chuck Wright said at a press conference. “I tell ‘em— every deputy— ‘Whether you work the roadside or detention side, I give you a badge, and I want it to be clean when I give it to you and when you give it back.’”

About three weeks before the May 29 arrest, the department’s Office of Professional Standards and the Narcotic Division began an internal affairs investigation into a deputy possibly bringing drugs into the detention center.

During the investigation, Ghant received money from an undercover agent in order to bring in narcotics or contraband into the jail and give it to inmates, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lt. Kevin Bobo said in an email.

The warrants don’t specify the type of drugs or contraband, but Wright said it was tobacco and perhaps other things. “We’re still investigating, trying to find out some things.”

Neither the warrants nor Bobo's description of events indicate that Ghant is currently charged with smuggling in contraband, only that he received money to do so.

It’s common for the State Law Enforcement Division to investigate when local law enforcement officers are accused of criminal conduct to avoid at least the appearance of a conflict of interest.

But Wright hasn’t called SLED.

“I’m not telling you SLED won’t be involved in this one,” Wright said. “I wanted the community to know we didn't wait around. We found a problem, and we fixed it. SLED probably will be getting involved in this.”

Wright is up for reelection this year and is facing a primary challenge from Nick Duncan, a former deputy who has campaigned in part on making the Sheriff’s Office more transparent.

Wright said he already is.

“I have always been transparent with our community and with our media, and we’re gonna keep doing that kind of stuff,” he said at the press conference. “This is not fun to stand up in front of you and tell you we’ve caught one of our own doing something really stupid.”