Convicted in absentia

An Oconee jury convicted a 40-year old Salem man today on the charge of distribution of methamphetamine third offense. Because Kenneth Wayne Whitworth did not attend the trial, the sentence written down by Judge Alex Macaulay will remain sealed until Whitworth is located and read the sentence. Assistant Solicitor Lindsey Simmons, whose prosecution won the verdict, said she considered an audio-video recording of a transaction between Whitworth and an Oconee Sheriff’s Department confidential informant to have been the key evidence during the two-day trial.