Greenville, South Carolina – A Greenville County man received 25 years in prison after extradition from Mexico in a cocaine trafficking case.
According to Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor Cindy S. Crick, Braden Spears Bowers, 37, appeared in General Sessions Court on February 13, 2026, for sentencing following his extradition from Mexico.
Prosecutors said Bowers was arrested in September 2022 after deputies found him allegedly in possession of more than 200 grams of cocaine in Greenville County. On January 9, 2023, Bowers pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine between 28 and 100 grams. A sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 2024.
After entering his guilty plea, Bowers was released on bond. Authorities said he later removed his ankle monitor and fled to Mexico. The U.S. Marshals Task Force began an investigation that led to his arrest in Mexico and extradition through Montgomery County, Texas, in January 2026.
According to the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, Bowers was returned to the Greenville County Detention Center on February 12, 2026. He appeared the following day before the Honorable Patrick C. Fant III, who sentenced him to 25 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
The case involved coordination between federal authorities and local law enforcement to secure Bowers’ return.
Drug trafficking convictions of this scale often carry significant prison terms and may affect local workforce-age residents and families across the county.
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