A York County Detention Center officer was arrested this week on six counts tied to child neglect, one day after an anonymous tip set off an investigation that the sheriff quickly handed to state authorities. Joel Snipes, who worked as a detention officer for York County, was booked on Oct. 24 and fired the following day.
The case began on Oct. 23, when York County Sheriff's Office deputies received an anonymous tip alleging the neglect of several children, according to qcnews.com. Deputies responded to the location named in the tip to investigate, and it was during that response that they discovered Snipes was one of the suspects, per the same report from the Fort Mill Sun.
Sheriff Hands Case to State Investigators
Once deputies realized one of their own detention officers was implicated, Sheriff Tony Breeden requested that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division take over the investigation, citing a conflict of interest. SLED then arrested Snipes on Oct. 24 and charged him with six counts related to unlawfully placing a child at risk, causing harm, or willfully abandoning a child, the station's report states.
Snipes was booked into the York County Detention Center the same day and released a short time later on a $12,000 surety bond. The following day, Sheriff Breeden terminated Snipes from his position, ending his employment as a York County detention officer within 48 hours of his arrest.
What the Charges Could Mean Legally
The charges against Snipes fall under South Carolina's children's code, which makes it unlawful for a person responsible for a child's welfare to place that child at unreasonable risk of harm to their life, physical or mental health, or safety, or to unlawfully or maliciously cause bodily harm, according to the South Carolina Children's Code. A related statute provides for imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine at the court’s discretion, per the South Carolina Code of Laws.
As of the latest reporting, no further information about the specific allegations against Snipes had been released. SLED has said it will provide all further information regarding the investigation as it becomes available.
This is not the first time SLED has stepped in on a similar case at a local agency's request. In November 2025, the agency charged a Colleton County man, 31-year-old Garrett Scott Biering, with unlawfully placing a child at risk of harm after that county's sheriff's office asked SLED to investigate, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
