TheState.com: Crime and Courts

Shooters videotape search for victim

Fri, 16 May 2008 22:15 EDT

The back-seat passenger, bobbing his head to a rap song playing in the truck, quickly flashes several gang signs to the video camera.

He leans back to show off a pistol from under his seat, clutching a can of Budweiser in a brown paper bag.

Up front, the driver lovingly pats a gun in his lap while a passenger off camera says, “That thing right there, that looks real nice.”

The two men and a front-seat passenger leisurely pass around a marijuana cigarette. A close-up of a watch reveals it’s just after 11 a.m.

Less than 20 minutes later, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said, the men would fire their guns at another man in a Northeast Richland community.

Nearly 350 bronze vases stolen from Greenville cemeteries

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:10 EDT

Nearly 350 bronze vases have been stolen from two Upstate cemeteries this month, authorities say.

Anderson County deputies told The Greenville News that 245 vases worth more than $55,000 were taken from Forest Lawn Cemetery in Belton this week.

The thief or thieves left behind some of the flowers, sticking them in the hole where the vase was, investigators said.

About a week ago, Greenville County deputies say 104 vases were stolen from Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville. They were valued at about $13,000.

It’s too early to know whether the thefts are related, authorities said.

Exclusive: Freewheeling drug sharing described by Ravenel

Fri, 16 May 2008 13:11 EDT

Cocaine circulated so readily in Charleston’s upper-crust circles that former State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel confessed that, in his orbit, users shared the powder “like a football ... back and forth.”

The then-rising political star privately described his casual drug culture to a SLED investigator last spring when Ravenel was first confronted about his drug use.

Ravenel portrayed himself as being drawn from a healthy lifestyle into a cocaine world that stretched from the Upper King Street bar district to mansions south of Broad Street.

“I was sort of addicted to working out,” Ravenel told Lt. Frank O’Neal during conversations on June 15 and 16.

“Then, recently ... I was just kinda, you know, I was just looking to, I don’t know, I was around people that were doing it.”

DNA test absolves Lizard Man of attack

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:03 EDT

DNA testing has shown an attack on a family van some blamed on the legendary Lizard Man appears to have been actually done by a domestic dog.

Something chewed up the front fender of Bob and Dixie Rawson’s van in February. Bite marks were left on the wheel wells, and blood was found on the vehicle.

A veterinary lab in California tested the blood and found it came from a dog, The (Sumter) Item reported.

But Bob Rawson isn’t sure, saying it would have to be one big dog.

Lee County Sheriff E.J. Melvin isn’t convinced, either. He thinks it was a coyote or wolf.

Dogfighting foes turn to hot line, billboards

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:03 EDT

Law enforcement officials unveiled a statewide hot line and billboard advertisement Thursday as their latest weapons against dogfighting and other animal cruelty.

The telephone hot line number — (888) CRIME-SC — will appear on 10 billboards that will feature an image of a dog with a scarred face and missing an eye.

Dogfighting can be associated with crimes including gang violence, drug trafficking, serial killings and child molestation, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.

“If someone will abuse an animal,” Lott said, “they will abuse a human.”

The payout in a fight between two pit bulls in a rural South Carolina ring could be $100,000 — drawing people from New York to Texas, Attorney General Henry McMaster said.

Couple arrested after shots fired with 3-year-old in car

Fri, 16 May 2008 08:02 EDT

A couple were arrested Wednesday after a car chase in which the two allegedly shot at another motorist while carrying a sleeping 3-year-old in their vehicle, authorities say.

Macalister Reid Jr., 21, and Shaina Laquillah-Lynn Whitmore, 19, both of Newberry, are each charged with assault with intent to kill and unlawful conduct toward a child. They are at the Newberry County jail.

The child is the suspects’ and was put in protective custody, the county Sheriff’s Department said.

Deputies were notified of a fight around 5 p.m. at a Wilson Road parking lot in which one person had a pistol. As deputies were en route, the people in the dispute got in their vehicles and sped off, the Sheriff’s Department said.

An unidentified man then called 911 to report he was being chased by another car whose occupants were shooting at him. Authorities said the shooters’ car eventually was spotted back on Wilson Road, and the couple were arrested there without incident.

Deputies seek men who robbed motorist

Thu, 15 May 2008 23:00 EDT

Richland County deputies are looking for two men who robbed a convenience store customer Monday night.

Surveillance images and video show the men inside the store, at 3600 Two Notch Road, and outside near the male victim’s car.

The victim was at a gas pump when a man got out of a car and entered the victim’s car, the Sheriff’s Department said.

The victim told police the man ordered him to drive to a side street, where he robbed him. The driver of the other car followed the victim to the crime location, and both men then fled, the department said.

If you have information, call Crime Stoppers at (888) 559-TIPS.

McCormick: Former prison guard charged in sex case

Thu, 15 May 2008 21:00 EDT

A former South Carolina prison guard has been charged with having sex with an inmate.

The State Law Enforcement Division said Thursday that 27-year-old Jesse Reid, of Hephzibah, Ga., was arrested Wednesday and charged with sexual misconduct with an inmate.

SLED said Reid admitted in August to having a sexual relationship with an inmate at McCormick Correctional Institution, a maximum security all-male facility about 80 miles west of Columbia.

A spokesman for the prison system said Reid was hired as a guard in December 2006 and fired in October because of inappropriate relations with an inmate.

Feds pursue Corley sisters' assets

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:14 EDT

Federal prosecutors are hoping to recover more than half the $20.5 million a Lexington County businesswoman admitted bilking from U.S. taxpayers through military equipment fraud.

The government already has recovered about $7.5 million in cash and from the sale of a business belonging to Charlene Corley and her late twin sister, Darlene Wooten, lead prosecutor Debbie Barbier said Wednesday.

Most of that came as a $4.5 million check Wooten, 45, wrote the government Oct. 2, 2006, the day she killed herself as investigators closed in.

The rest of the restitution is to come from an auction of the sisters’ primary residences, four beach homes on Edisto Island, jewelry and eight luxury autos, including an $82,000 Mercedes-Benz.

“I’m hoping to get more than half of the money back,” Barbier said.

Child sexual abuse: S.C. to train educators in awareness

Thu, 15 May 2008 08:52 EDT

A high school science teacher in Easley faces criminal charges after police say he solicited sex over the Internet from sheriff’s deputies he thought were 13-year-old girls.

A middle school teacher in Clinton pleads guilty to three counts of criminal sexual conduct with a minor, accused of having sex with at least five boys.

A high school cheerleading coach in Ware Shoals is accused of giving beer to two of her cheerleaders and having sex with a male student who was old enough to consent.

These are three criminal cases brought against educators last year alone — incidents state officials hope to pre-empt with a new program aimed at teaching anyone who works in a school how to prevent, recognize and react to child sexual abuse.

“Most children will never tell,” said Anne Lee, president and CEO of the nonprofit group that developed the training. “One in 10 children will tell, and 43 percent of those that do tell will tell a teacher.”

Richland authorities seek IDs of gas-pump robbers

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:52 EDT

Richland County Sheriff's deputies are looking for two men suspected in a May 12 convenience store robbery.

Surveillance images and video show the suspects inside the store and outside in the vicinity of the victim's car.

The victim was at a gas pump when a male got out of a car and entered the victim's car, the sheriff's department said.

The suspect is accused of ordering the victim to drive to a side street and then robbing him. The driver of the suspects' car followed the victim to the crime location and both men then fled, the department said.

Anyone with information on the suspects' identities can call Crime Stoppers of the Midlands at (888) 559-TIPS (8477) to report the information for a possible cash reward. Tips also can be left online at midlandscrimestoppers.com.

Couple arrested in shooting chase with infant in tow +911 audio

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:12 EDT

Newberry County authorities arrested a couple Wednesday after an argument turned violent and they reportedly chased a victim with their vehicle while shooting at him.

The arrested couples' car was carrying their sleeping 3-month-old infant.

Newberry County Sheriff's deputies were notified of a fight around 5 p.m. at a Wilson Road parking lot in which one person had a pistol. As deputies were enroute, the people in the dispute climbed into their vehicles and sped off, according to the sheriff's office.

One man then called 911 to report he was being chased by another car whose occupants were shooting at him. The caller said he lost the suspects' car, described as a purple Chevrolet Impala with paper tags, on a side road.

Deputies, Newberry Police officers, state troopers and S.C. State Transport Police officers started a search for the shooters' car, which eventually was spotted back at the parking lot on Wilson Road. The couple was arrested there without incident.

Ex-councilman convicted of taking bribes to work for Clyburn

Thu, 15 May 2008 12:13 EDT

The former Orangeburg County councilman who served a year in prison for bribery and extortion has been hired to work with U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.

Clyburn told The Times and Democrat of Orangeburg on Wednesday that John Rickenbacker will work for him as a liaison between his office and constituents.

Rickenbacker was indicted in June 2006 on charges he took $50,000 in bribes from an agent posing as a consultant for a company interested in buying a local hospital. Rickenbacker told the agent he would work to get County Council's support for the sale and provided a confidential financial report.

Rickenbacker pleaded guilty and served a year in prison. He was released from a Columbia halfway house last month.

Charleston fire chief retiring to help department ‘heal’

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:35 EDT

CHARLESTON — Rusty Thomas, the plainspoken fire chief who became Charleston’s public face after nine firefighters died in a furniture-store blaze last year, will leave the post next month.

“The Charleston Fire Department has been my life for 32 years,” Thomas said Wednesday in a short statement to reporters, explaining that retirement will allow him to spend more time with his family. “For 16 of those 32 years, I put the department before my family.” He took no questions.

Earlier, in a letter to Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., Thomas said retiring is “the best thing I can do right now to help this department that I love so much heal from the tragedy of June 18.”

A third-generation firefighter, Thomas knew each man who died in the Sofa Super Store fire last June. During a memorial service last year, he delivered intensely personal eulogies peppered with anecdotes and jokes about each one, mimicking their mannerisms and sayings and moving thousands of mourners to laughter and tears.

After the fire, union officials and consultants raised questions about the department’s outmoded procedures and equipment and whether the men died needlessly. State workplace safety regulators fined the department, and numerous analyses have either been issued or are being prepared for release — including a long-awaited study by a city-commissioned panel that is to be made public today.

SC attorney general unveiling hot line for dogfighting tips

Thu, 15 May 2008 11:48 EDT

Attorney General Henry McMaster is expanding his efforts to fight dogfighting in South Carolina.

McMaster announced Thursday the creation of a new statewide Crimestoppers hot line and Web site where callers can report tips about suspected dogfighting.

If the tips result in a conviction, McMaster says reward money will be distributed on behalf of the Humane Society of the United States.

McMaster says billboards will also be used statewide to advertise the phone number and Web site.

In October, McMaster and the Humane Society announced a new effort to reward those who report dog fighting in their communities. The Humane Society has since offered rewards up to $5,000.

Man pleads guilty to counterfeiting

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:44 EDT

A West Columbia man pleaded guilty in federal court to participating in a counterfeit-money conspiracy, acting U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said.

Eric Kenyard Williams, 32, will be sentenced later. He faces a $25,000 fine and five years in prison.

McDonald said that from August to October 2007, Williams was involved in a ring that made, passed and sold counterfeit money. Two people accused of being co-conspirators are awaiting trial.

— Ishmael Tate

Security officer accused of punching patient

Wed, 14 May 2008 22:44 EDT

A security officer with the S.C. Department of Mental Health was arrested Wednesday and accused of assaulting a vulnerable adult.

Corey Darnell Scott, 32, of Lorick Circle, is charged with simple assault and battery, according to a warrant.

Warrants allege Scott punched an adult, who was in the care of the department, three times in the face last year at a Columbia psychiatric ward.

The case will be prosecuted in city magistrate court.

2 convicted in slaying of teen at Waffle House

Wed, 14 May 2008 21:02 EDT

Two men accused of killing a bystander during a shootout between gang members last year at a Waffle House were found guilty of murder Tuesday.

Jurors deliberated for a little more than three hours before convicting Eugene Patterson, 18, and Andre T. Boone, 17, of murder in the Feb. 19, 2007, death of 15-year-old Brian Wright.

Each was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Luck Campbell, senior assistant 5th Circuit solicitor, told the jury in closing arguments that the men should be found guilty because they wanted to fight, brought guns and fired their weapons.

“All the state asks is that you hold them responsible for their choices,” Campbell said.

Two students face gun charges

Tue, 13 May 2008 23:30 EDT

Two Lower Richland High students were caught with guns at school Tuesday, police say.

Demosthenes T. Ford, an 18-year-old senior, and an unidentified 16-year-old junior were arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and carrying a weapon on school grounds.

Richland County sheriff’s investigators don’t believe the incidents are related.

Ford and the 16-year-old have been suspended and will be recommended for expulsion, Richland 1 spokeswoman Karen York said.

Having a weapon on school grounds is the highest offense under the school discipline code, York said.

Man charged after girl, 1, ingests cocaine

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:38 EDT

A West Columbia man was arrested Tuesday after police say a 1-year-old girl ingested crack cocaine in the man’s home.

Quiency Orlando Jones, 28, is charged with unlawful conduct toward a child, Lexington County Sheriff James R. Metts said. He is at the Lexington County Detention Center awaiting a bail hearing. The child is expected to recover.

Warrants allege the girl’s mother and Jones took the child to the emergency room Monday night after noticing she was acting strangely, Metts said. Medical workers discovered the girl had cocaine in her system, police said. The incident was reported to the Department of Social Service. The girl remains in her mother’s care.