Richland Co. sheriff arrest more parents connected with crimes by their children
One and a half years ago, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott began an initiative unlike nothing seen in South Carolina: parents found to have aided their kids in committing a crime would be held accountable.
Lott calls it a “parent accountability initiative,” but his language is closer to a moral indictment than a policy slogan.
To date, 12 parents have been arrested in connection with crimes committed by their children. Three more were arrested this week
For a year and a half, Lott’s department has pursued a simple premise: adults who “condone, assist, [or] help” children commit serious crimes — including murder and armed break-ins — should face arrest themselves. So far, deputies have arrested 12 adults, with three more taken into custody this week, Lott said during a news conference Friday.
The sheriff described one recent case as emblematic. After a double homicide in what investigators believe was a robbery, a 15-year-old suspect was identified — and his mother’s role in aiding and abetting.
The mother, whom he identified as Kendra Hemphill, allegedly arranged for her son to be driven to the Rock Hill area afterward. Although her son had been shot, Hemphill did not take him to a hospital or call a doctor, Lott said. Instead, she attempted to treat the wound herself while helping him evade accountability.
She was arrested and charged with accessory after the fact of a felony and unlawful conduct toward a child, Lott said.
In another arrest announced Friday, the sheriff said two adults were charged after investigators executing a search warrant found drugs and a loaded gun inside a home with children present. The firearm, he said, was discovered under the bed of a 2-year-old — “ready,” he added, “all you had to do was pull the trigger.”
Alterik Mays and Samantha Rivera were arrested in connection with the search warrant and charged with neglect by legal custodian and possession of a schedule 1, 2 or 3 substance with intent to distribute. Mays was additionally charged with felon in possession of a firearm, Lott said.
The point of the initiative, Lott said, is not to “see how many parents we can arrest,” but to push adults to intervene earlier — and to use support services before a child ends up in the criminal legal system. Since the department began publicizing the arrests, he said, youth services started receiving more calls from parents asking for help than ever before, which he framed as the desired outcome.
But the sheriff reserved particular frustration for what he portrayed as a cycle of juvenile violence and lenient consequences.
He recalled a December 2024 carjacking case that ended in a crash and a manhunt for a 13-year-old suspect whom he said shot and killed a police dog, Bumi. The boy’s mother, Shameka Williams, was arrested then after she picked him up from the scene and helped dispose of clothing.
The juvenile later received probation, according to Lott and returned to the same behavior soon after it ended, leading to another chase and another gun arrest. Williams was again arrested for aiding her son in the crime, Lott said.
He praised a newly passed state law — Fargo’s Law — that increases penalties for injuring police dogs and horses, noting that, in his tenure, four canines have been killed in the line of duty.
Still, he argued that focusing only on youths misses the larger reality: the pipeline to violence is often facilitated by adults, Lott said.
“Adults,” he said, provide kids access to guns by leaving them unsecured inside cars and homes and by purchasing them for minors.
“This is an adult problem,” the sheriff said. “Be part of the solution.”
He closed with a blunt appeal he said he hopes not to repeat: “Real simple. Be a parent.”
