Cottageville Man Guilty in Bench Trial for Meth Trafficking, Sentenced 25 Years

David Michael DeLong, 52, of Cottageville Highway in Colleton County, was found guilty in a bench trial of trafficking methamphetamine and received a 25-year prison sentence from Circuit Court Judge Carmen T. Mullen, the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced in a Walterboro press release dated Feb. 26, 2026.

The solicitor’s office said deputies stopped DeLong on March 8, 2025 after a Colleton County Sheriff’s deputy observed blue lights mounted on the exterior of his pickup truck. A K9 alerted to the vehicle and deputies located two clear bags of a crystal-like substance in the pickup’s center console; laboratory testing confirmed the material totaled more than 31 grams of methamphetamine.

Prosecutors pursued a bench trial rather than a jury trial, and the solicitor’s release explained that a bench trial, in which a judge rather than a jury hears the evidence and decides the verdict, is often used when a defendant seeks a faster resolution. The release and local reporting say DeLong was found guilty Tuesday in that bench trial and that Judge Carmen T. Mullen imposed the 25-year sentence.

Assistant Solicitor Lynorr Musser handled the prosecution for the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office and said, “This defendant made it his job to peddle in poison, making our community sick and harming an untold number of people.” The press release notes Musser has served with the Solicitor’s Office since 2013 and primarily prosecutes cases in Colleton, Hampton and Allendale counties.

The solicitor’s office also detailed DeLong’s prior criminal history in Florida, stating his record there dates to 1995 and that he was convicted of trafficking methamphetamine in Florida in 2016 and again in 2018. Those prior trafficking convictions were cited in the office’s summary of the Colleton County case.

The Fourteenth Circuit covers Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties, and the Walterboro press release framed the conviction as a prosecutorial success for that circuit. The release did not include statements from DeLong or defense counsel and did not specify whether an appeal has been filed.