SC man who gained viral attention buying $540 in Girl Scout cookies is arrested on drug charges
Source: Kayla Dillard/Facebook
GREENVILLE, SC (FOX News) - He was the mystery man who gained viral notoriety for buying $540 worth of Girl Scout cookies so the girls wouldn't have to stand out in the cold. And now, garnering the attention of an entirely different sort, he was arrested on drug charges on Tuesday at his home in Greenville, South Carolina.
The man, identified as Detric Lee McGowan, 46, appeared in federal court; he faces drug and conspiracy charges relating to manufacturing heroin and fentanyl pills.
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents were investigating McGowan for six months and planned on arresting him Tuesday, long before the photo of him smiling next to two Girl Scouts went viral.
SEE ALSO: Man spends $540 on cookies so Girl Scouts can escape cold
“It was all a coincidence,” a DEA source told Fox News.
McGowan “used his story of buying $540 of Girl Scout cookies to falsely shine the spotlight on himself under the pretense of being a pillar of the community; in reality, he is a pariah to the community,” said Robert J. Murphy, the special agent in charge of the DEA's Atlanta field division. “His criminal conduct provided no positive benefit to the Greenville community, but only caused immeasurable and untold pain to the scores of families who are dealing with opioid addiction.