ABBEVILLE, S.C.; September 1, 2026 — An Abbeville County man will spend the next 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a deadly 2025 DUI crash and a separate incident involving methamphetamine trafficking and a police pursuit while he was out on bond, 8th Circuit Solicitor David M. Stumbo announced Monday.
Dasurah Dever Pulley was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for felony driving under the influence resulting in death and 15 years for trafficking methamphetamine, 10-28 grams, second offense. Pulley also received five-year sentences for failure to stop for a blue light, second offense, and malicious injury to property. Circuit Judge William C. McMaster III ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
The felony DUI and methamphetamine trafficking charges are classified as serious, violent offenses under South Carolina law. Pulley must serve at least 85 percent of his 15-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
The felony DUI charge stems from a March 7, 2025, crash on Maddox Bridge Road near the Abbeville-Laurens county line. South Carolina Highway Patrol troopers responded shortly after 2 a.m. to a report of a single-vehicle collision. Elizabeth Brown died at the scene.
Investigators determined that Pulley and Brown were returning home after celebrating a family member’s birthday in downtown Anderson when Pulley crossed the center line and struck a guardrail. Pulley initially told law enforcement that Brown had been driving the vehicle.
During the course of the investigation, troopers gathered evidence that contradicted Pulley’s account of the crash. When confronted with that evidence at the hospital, Pulley admitted that he had been driving and that he was intoxicated. Testing later showed Pulley’s blood alcohol concentration was .10 percent. Testing also revealed a high level of methamphetamine in Pulley’s system at the time of the crash.
Pulley was released on bond while the felony DUI charge was pending and was scheduled for trial during the September term of General Sessions Court in Abbeville County. While on bond, however, Pulley was arrested on a new set of charges following a June 11, 2026, incident in the city of Abbeville.
At approximately 11:30 p.m., officers with the Abbeville Police Department were conducting a driver’s license checkpoint when Pulley approached the checkpoint, stopped and turned around. Officers immediately pursued Pulley with their blue lights and sirens activated.
Pulley led officers on a pursuit for several miles through Abbeville, at one point turning off his vehicle’s headlights in an attempt to evade police. The pursuit continued until one of the vehicle’s tires became disabled. Pulley then jumped from the vehicle near Main Street and fled on foot before being apprehended a short distance away. The unoccupied vehicle continued rolling and struck a nearby residence.
Officers subsequently located approximately 12 grams of methamphetamine in the passenger seat of Pulley’s vehicle.
Following Pulley’s arrest on the new charges, prosecutors moved to revoke his bond on the pending felony DUI charge. Judge McMaster granted the State’s motion, and Pulley remained incarcerated pending resolution of the cases. He received no jail-time credit toward the 15-year sentence.
Deputy Solicitor Wade Dowtin handled the cases for the State with assistance from Assistant Solicitors Madison Hoffman and Abigail Lodge along with 8th Circuit Investigator Blake Moore and 8th Circuit Victim Advocate Emily Gosnell.
Pulley was represented by Dick Warder of the Greenville County Bar on the felony DUI charge and Michael Gambrell of the Public Defender’s Office on the methamphetamine trafficking, failure to stop for a blue light and malicious injury to property charges.
Solicitor Stumbo praised the work of his staff along with First Sgt. Jamie Ashley and the South Carolina Highway Patrol in investigating the deadly crash. Stumbo also recognized Patrolman Chris Rudman and Sgt. Robert Rushton of the Abbeville Police Department for their work in apprehending Pulley and investigating the subsequent charges.
“This defendant killed a woman because he chose to get behind the wheel drunk, lied about being the driver, and then, while we were preparing to try him for her death, went right back out and committed more serious crimes,” Solicitor Stumbo said. “People like Dasurah Pulley who repeatedly show this kind of disregard for the law and for the lives and safety of everyone around them belong behind bars.”
