Nine accused of looting in Columbia protests
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported that 10 people had been charged with looting. The Columbia Police Department later corrected its information to report that nine had been charged with looting. The name of the 10th person has been removed from the story.
Nine people were charged with looting after a violent weekend of protests in Columbia.
Columbia police announced the charges on Monday, identifying more than 50 people arrested after protests against the police killing of a black man ended in clashes with police, acts of vandalism and several businesses being broken into.
Four of those arrested on looting charges were from Columbia, while another three were from out of state. One is from Aiken and another did not have a hometown listed.
Overall, of the 55 people arrested during and after the protests, 40 were from Richland and Lexington counties and five were from out of state.
Three face charges in addition to looting. One, Lee J. Little, 21, of Columbia, was unlawfully carrying a pistol and discharged it within the city limits, police say. Two others also face disorderly conduct charges, and one also resisted arrest, according to police.
Forty-four of those arrested over the weekend were charged with violating the city’s curfew, which was put into force Saturday night and expired early Monday morning.
Police say they arrested 19-year-old Dominic Gladden on Sunday for carrying a gun and 70 rounds of ammunition in his backpack. Two other men also face charges of unlawfully carrying a weapon: Paul Joseph Drinkwine, 23, of Columbia, and Nicholas Zimmer, 24, of Lexington.
Those charged with looting include
▪ Demarcus Bolton, 30, of Columbia
▪ Sophia Capers, 38, of Columbia
▪ Monica Faye Gaudet, 31, of Aiken
▪ Amber Meghan Gillard, 24, no location listed (also faces resisting arrest and disorderly conduct charges)
▪ Shakia Jeanette Hurlock, 27, of Aberdeen, N.C.,
▪ Lee J. Little, 21, of Columbia (also unlawful carrying of a pistol, aggravated breach of the peace and discharging a firearm within the city limits)
▪ Nadia Richardson, 33, of Centerville, Va.
▪ Aaliyah Calista Stokes, 21, of Columbia (also public disorderly conduct)
▪ Tyler Wilson, 27, of East Elmhurst, N.Y.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 8:33 PM.
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