The S. C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was created by Act No. 232 of the South Carolina General Assembly on May 14, 1935, for the purpose of enforcing the State Liquor Law as passed by the General Assembly of 1935, and to assist any Law Enforcement Officer in the detection of crime and the enforcement of any criminal laws of the State of South Carolina.
J. Henry Jeanes (April 21, 1891-August 19, 1941) was appointed as the first Chief of SLED by Governor Olin D. Johnston in 1935. Jeanes had previously served as the Game Warden for Anderson County, an elected position at the time, and also as Chief of the Pelzer Police Department. In addition to enforcing the state liquor laws, Jeanes and his Agents investigated cases of murder, organized crime, and civil rights violations perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan. Agents also participated in manhunts, extraditions, missing persons cases, and a wide variety of other matters in support of local law enforcement.
Jeanes also served as Chief under Governor Burnet R. Maybank. He served until his sudden death by heart attack in 1941 at the age of 50.
The first SLED Agents, appointed in 1935:
Curtis Gardner, Sam K. Miller, G. C. "Cleve" Hayes, Frankie Meyers, Roy Ashley, Joe H. Hinton, B. C. Bethea, A. M. Lightsey, J. H. Harbin, Jr. , J. D. Munn, Roland T. Clary, V. M. Kay, Charles M. Whistnant, R. F. Grice, DeWitt T. Huckabee, Manley Gregory, W. J. Thompson, W. B. Hildebrand, R. E. Griffith, Walter Poston.
George Richard "Dick" Richardson (May 16, 1902 - July 24, 1983) was appointed as the second Chief of SLED on October 1, 1941 by Governor Burnet R. Maybank. Richardson had served as a police officer, deputy sheriff, and also as the sheriff of Greenville county before being named to the constabulary in 1939. He was appointed as a Lieutenant in charge of the western district in May, 1940.
Sam J. Pratt was the third Chief of SLED, 1942-1943. He had served with SLED for less than three years when he was promoted to Chief by Governor J. E. Harley. Pratt, a former school teacher from Due West, was 36 years old at the time. After his tenure as Chief, Pratt served as a SLED Lieutenant until 1946 when he was appointed as the Chief Investigator with the S. C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission. He served in that capacity until 1971, when Governor John C. West named him Chairman of the Commission.
G. R. Richardson served as Chief of SLED for a second time during 1946 - 1947. He later served as the Superintendent of the State Penitentiary and as an aide to US Senator Burnet Maybank. Richardson passed away in 1983 at the age of 81 and is buried in the Simpsonville municipal cemetary.
Joel D. Townsend (1902-1953) served as the sixth Chief of SLED from 1947 - 1949. In the 1920's Townsend served as a Deputy US Marshal. He then became a member of the "first class" of the South Carolina Highway Patrol when it was established in 1930. He later served as a Special Investigator with the Highway Patrol's ID Bureau, an elite group of criminal investigators, forensics experts, and fingerprint examiners. The ID Bureau was involved with virtually every major criminal investigation in the state from 1934 onward. Townsend was a protege of the ID Bureau's founder, Lt. Leo Jenkins, who died in 1941. Lt. Townsend was in charge of the ID Bureau when it was moved to SLED by the Legislature in 1947 and Townsend was named Chief of SLED at that time. After two years as Chief, Townsend was appointed to the State Industrial Commission, where he served until his death in 1953.
Oren L. Brady served as the seventh Chief of SLED, 1949-1956.
J. P. Strom served as the eighth Chief of SLED, 1956-1987.
Robert Stewart served as the ninth Chief of SLED, 1988-2007.
Reginald Lloyd served as the tenth Chief of SLED, 2008-2011.
Mark Keel was appointed 11th Chief of SLED in 2011.
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