Protesters call for Myers’ resignation after DUI charge

Protestors demanded prosecutor Donnie Myers’ resignation during a rally at the Lexington County Judicial Center on Thursday.

Myers was charged with driving under the influence earlier this week after telling the S.C. Highway Patrol an unknown driver ran him off the road at the intersection of Old Chapin and Beechcreek roads in Lexington. He has not responded to anti-DUI activists’ calls for him to step down, rally organizer David Longstreet said.

Longstreet spoke alongside several other area residents who have lost family members to drunk driving.

“We live a life sentence,” Longstreet said.

Longstreet led a successful push for stronger penalties for repeat DUI offenders after his 6-year-old daughter, Emma, died Jan. 1, 2012, in a crash caused by a motorist now imprisoned for felony drunken driving.

One speaker, Chandra Cleveland-Jennings, worked in law enforcement at the Richland County Sheriff’s Department for 19 years.

“I know how important it is that we who enforce the law follow the law,” she said.

Protestors expressed concern that Myers’ history with alcohol and the law – including a 2005 DUI conviction in North Carolina and a 2012 open container charge in Lexington County – could bias his behavior in the courtroom.

Lexington County resident Travis Mayo, 44, lost his 15-year-old son in a collision in 2013. Michael Gray, the driver who struck Brandon Mayo, was charged with felony DUI resulting in death and possession of a controlled substance after the incident. He was found guilty of reckless homicide and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Mayo said Myers has a “sickness” and should resign his position as 11th circuit solicitor.

“If he had any morals at all, he would step down and resign and go get the help that he needed,” Mayo said. “It’s not right. If you break the law, you break the law. You should be punished. You have to practice what you preach.”

Efforts to reach Myers for comment Thursday were unsuccessful.

Longstreet said he and others are searching for a challenger to run against the veteran prosecutor who is up for reelection later this year.

Also Thursday, the S.C. Department of Public Safety released video footage showing Myers’ sobriety test at his Lake Murray home. In the video, a trooper tells Myers to stand on one leg and the prosecutor refuses, saying he hit his leg and previously had knee surgery.

In the video, Myers also fails to completely recite the alphabet, skipping “N” and stopping at “P.”

“I can’t believe you are doing this,” Meyers said more than once as he was being arrested.

The only items of value responders found in Myers’ vehicle were a loaded pistol and an ID, according to a DPS towed vehicle report.

Longstreet said he intends to travel to other counties in Myers’ jurisdiction to find more support from citizens and elected officials to get the solicitor to resign. Myers was first elected chief prosecutor for Lexington, Saluda, Edgefield and McCormick counties in 1976.

“My concern is right now, the citizens have to voice their frustration to the point the politicians, elected officials, are going to have to weigh on him, get him to step down,” Longstreet said.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Protesters call for Myers’ resignation after DUI charge."