COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A former sheriff in South Carolina agreed to plead guilty Thursday to stealing money from the force’s benevolence fund and taking pain pills that were supposed to be destroyed as part of a narcotics take-back program.

Former Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright took money one time from the fund set aside for deputies facing financial difficulties by saying he was paying for expenses to send an officer to Washington to honor a deputy killed in the line of duty but instead put the cash in his own pocket, according to court records.

In addition to the painkillers he took from the take-back program, Wright also got a blank check from the benevolence fund and used it to pay for oxycodone and hydrocodone pills, writing it out his dealer, prosecutors said.

Two other fo

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