Court appoints new attorney for Etcheber

Pascal Etcheber, a French national previously arrested in the drug investigation of former South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, was given a new court-appointed attorney this morning.

Etcheber currently faces a total of six charges in the case, after five were added in a superceding indictment. Some of the new charges cover allegations of intimidating a witness and lying to a federal judge.

During a hearing at the federal courthouse in Charleston, U.S. Magistrate Judge Judge Bristow Marchant appointed John Barton of Columbia as Etchebar’s new attorney after other defense lawyer choices from the past week were eliminated due to conflicts.

Other issues were put on hold until Etcheber could meet with his lawyer.

At the hearing the possibility was raised that Etcheber also would be transferred to a jail in the Columbia area, to have better access to Barton and the U.S. District Judge Joe Anderson, who is overseeing the case.

Etcheber, 46, was involved in Ravenel’s social circle. The original charge against him, filed earlier this year, accused him of lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement concerning his knowledge of drug activities. That charge carries a maximum five years in federal prison and $250,000 fine.

Because of the new charges, Etcheber’s bondsman also was relieved of his role in the case. For now, Etcheber is being held at the Charleston County Detention Center.

Ravenel served 10 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy with intent to distribute cocaine. He ended his home detention earlier this year.