South Carolina State News

While Trump overhauls FEMA, Mississippi tornado survivors await assistance

Tue, 20 May 2025 10:11:02 +0000

TYLERTOWN, Miss. (AP) — More than two months after a tornado destroyed his home, Brian Lowery still looks through the rubble, hoping to find a tie clip his mother gave him, made from the center stone of her wedding band.

“I still have hope,” Lowery said.

Lowery considers himself lucky. He, his wife and 13-year-old son made it to safety before the tornado ripped apart their trailer home of 15 years. Despite his positive outlook, Lowery admits he’s frustrated; Mississippi’s request for federal aid is still pending before the Federal Emergency Management Agency, meaning badly needed assistance has not yet made it to his hard-hit community of Tylertown.

“I don’t know what you got to do or what you got to have to be able to be declared for a federal disaster area because this is pretty bad,” Lowery said. “We can’t help you because, whatever, we’re waiting on a letter; we’re waiting on somebody to sign his name. You know, all that. I’m just over it.”

Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves asked the Trump administration for a major disaster declaration on April 1 after 18 tornadoes tore through the state on March 14 and 15, leaving seven people dead and hundreds of homes destroyed or damaged.

The declaration would allow the state to access a wide range of FEMA resources, including financial aid for individuals and for government agencies still removing debris and repairing infrastructure.

“We don’t have a declaration yet. People are still hurting,” said Royce McKee, emergency management director for Walthall County, which includes Tylertown.

Mississippi’s request comes at a time of upheaval for FEMA. The agency's acting administrator, Cameron Hamilton, was recently ousted after he publicly disagreed with proposals to dismantle FEMA, an idea President Donald Trump has floated in calling the agency “very bureaucratic” and “very slow.”

David Richardson, FEMA’s new acting administrator, committed himself to executing Trump’s vision for the agency. He also previewed potential policy changes, saying there could be “more cost-sharing with states” and that FEMA would coordinate federal assistance “when deemed necessary.”

Walthall County was hit especially hard by the massive storm system that wreaked havoc across multiple states. The storm spawned two significant tornadoes in the county, where four people died.

McKee said the county has sunk an estimated $700,000 into cleaning up the damage but can’t afford to spend more and has halted operations until it receives federal help.

“We need federal help, and we need it desperately, and we need it now,” said Bobby McGinnis, a Tylertown resident and firefighter. “I know President Trump said that — America first, we’re going to help our American folks first. But we haven’t seen the federal folks down here.”

While Mississippi has been waiting, a similar major disaster declaration request out of Arkansas after the storms hit was denied, appealed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and finally approved on May 13.

“We are encouraged by FEMA’s decision regarding Arkansas’ application from the same storm system that hit Mississippi,” Scott Simmons, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency’s director of external affairs, said in a statement. “We anxiously await a positive decision.”

Mississippi lawmakers have been pressing federal officials on the issue. During a congressional hearing in early May, Republican Mississippi Rep. Michael Guest asked U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, to push forward the request.

“I would ask you if you could make sure that you could do everything to expedite that request,” Guest said. ”It is impacting my local jurisdictions with debris cleanup. It is impacting people as they seek to recover.”

Republican Mississippi U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith also asked Noem about FEMA assistance and the administration’s new approach to the agency.

“President Trump has been very clear that he believes that the way that FEMA exists today should not continue,” Noem responded. “He wants to make sure that those reforms are happening where states are empowered to do the response and trained and equipped, and then the federal government would come in and support them and financially be there when they need them on their worst day.”

Former ATL mayor announces run for GA governor

Tue, 20 May 2025 10:00:09 +0000

ATLANTA, Ga. (WSAV) -- Former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has officially thrown her hat into Georgia's 2026 race for Governor, Monday.

Bottoms was the Mayor of Atlanta from 2018 to 2022 before deciding against running for re-election. She was then joined the Biden administration as director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

The Democrat and early supporter of former President Joe Biden spoke with WSAV News 3's Andrew Davis via Zoom Monday.

"There's a lot of uncertainty and chaos that's coming out of Washington, D.C.," Bottoms told Davis. "And people are looking for a leader who's willing to fight and deliver for them. And after the November election, I made the decision that I wanted to present myself for service and work to earn the trust and support of people across the state."

Bottoms says expanding and improving Medicaid coverage in Georgia is her highest campaign priority.

"We fight tooth and nail to beat Alabama and LSU in football, but we're losing to Alabama and Louisiana when it comes to health care coverage. They've both expanded Medicaid, where only one of nine states in the country that's not expanded Medicaid. That means that 300,000 Georgians don't have coverage. Nine rural hospitals have closed across the state because we've not expanded Medicaid. It's cost our state $710 million because we've not expanded Medicaid. That transcends party lines. It's about having access to quality health care in our communities."

So far, Bottoms faces competition from fellow Atlantan and state Democratic Sen. Jason Esteves, a lawyer and business owner. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has announced his run on the Republican side.

More candidates are expected to announce their intent to run for governor in the near future.

You can see Andrew's interview with Bottoms on Tuesday on News 3 beginning with Coastal Sunrise.

Jet had to abort takeoff to avoid runway collision at New York's LaGuardia Airport

Tue, 20 May 2025 09:57:36 +0000

When a passenger jet roaring down the runway toward takeoff at New York's LaGuardia Airport had to slam on the brakes earlier this month because another plane was still on the runway, Renee Hoffer and all the other passengers were thrown forward in their seats.

Hoffer wound up in the emergency room the next day after the near miss on May 6 because her neck started hurting and her left arm went numb.

“The stop was as hard as any car accident I've been in,” Hoffer said.

Both the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board said Monday that they are investigating the incident in which a Republic Airways jet had to abort takeoff and slam to a stop because a United Airlines plane was still taxiing across the runway. The close call happened despite the airport being equipped with an advanced surface radar system that’s designed to help prevent such close calls.

In this Friday Jan. 25, 2019, file photo is the air traffic control tower at LaGuardia Airport in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

In audio from the tower that ABC obtained from the website www.LiveATC.net, the air traffic controller said to the pilot of the Republic Airways jet: “Sorry, I thought United had cleared well before that.”

At the time that controller was directing the Republic Airways jet to takeoff, a ground controller on a different radio frequency was directing the United plane to a new taxiway after it missed the first one it was supposed to use to exit the runway.

When the passengers got off the plane after the close call at 12:35 a.m., Hoffer said the gate agents refused to even give them hotel vouchers for the night because they blamed the weather even though another passenger said she had an app on her phone that showed another plane was on the runway.

Hoffer said she's been stuck in a customer service nightmare since the flight Republic was operating for American Airlines ended abruptly. She said neither the airline nor the FAA has answered her complaints while she continues to nurse the pinched nerve in her neck that the ER doctors identified.

Both the airlines and the airport referred questions to the FAA.

The number of close calls in recent years has created serious concerns for the FAA, NTSB and other safety experts. The NTSB’s investigation of a February 2023 close call in Austin highlighted the concerns, but there have been a number of other high-profile near misses. In one case, a Southwest Airlines jet coming in for a landing in Chicago narrowly avoided smashing into a business jet crossing the runway.

LaGuardia is one of just 35 airports across the country equipped with the FAA's best technology to prevent such runway incursions. The ASDS-X system uses a variety of technology to help controllers track planes and vehicles on the ground. At the other 490 U.S. airports with a control tower, air traffic controllers have to rely on more low-tech tools like a pair of binoculars to keep track of aircraft on the ground because the systems are expensive.

Expanding the systems to more airports is something Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would like to do if Congress signs off on his multi-billion-dollar plan to overhaul the nation's aging air traffic control system.

But it's clear the technology is not perfect because close calls continue happening. The FAA is taking a number of additional steps to try to reduce the number of close calls, and it plans to install an additional warning system at LaGuardia in the future.

But the rate of runway incursions per 1 million takeoffs and landings has remained around 30 for a decade. The rate got as high as 35 in 2017 and 2018. But generally there are fewer than 20 of the most serious kind of incursions where a collision was narrowly avoided or there was a significant potential for a crash, according to the FAA. That number did hit 22 in 2023 but fell to just 7 last year.

To help, there are efforts to develop a system that will warn pilots directly about traffic on a runway instead of alerting the controller and relying on them to relay the warning. That could save precious seconds. But the FAA has not yet certified a system to warn pilots directly that Honeywell International has been developing for years.

The worst accident in aviation history occurred in 1977 on the Spanish island of Tenerife, when a KLM 747 began its takeoff roll while a Pan Am 747 was still on the runway; 583 people died when the planes collided in thick fog.

Man executed for the 2000 killing of a police officer in Indiana's second execution in 15 years

Tue, 20 May 2025 07:15:58 +0000

MICHIGAN CITY, Ind. (AP) — An Indiana man convicted in the fatal shooting of a police officer in 2000 was executed Tuesday by lethal injection in the state’s second execution in 15 years.

Benjamin Ritchie, 45, had been on Indiana’s death row since 2002, when he was convicted of killing Beech Grove Police Officer Bill Toney during a chase on foot.

Ritchie was executed at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City, according to Indiana Department of Correction officials. IDOC said in a statement that the process started shortly after midnight and Ritchie was pronounced dead at 12:46 a.m.

Ritchie's last meal was from the Olive Garden and he expressed love, support and peace for his friends and family, according to the statement.

Under state law, he was allowed five witnesses at his execution, which included his attorney Steve Schutte, who told reporters he had a limited view of the process.

“I couldn’t see his face. He was lying flat by that time,” Schutte said. “He sat up, twitched, laid back down.”

The process was carried out hours after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take the case, exhausting all of Ritchie’s legal options to fight the death sentence.

Dozens of people, both anti-death penalty advocates and supporters of Toney, stood outside the prison until early Tuesday.

Indiana resumed executions in December after a yearslong hiatus due to a scarcity of lethal injection drugs nationwide. Prison officials provided photos of the execution chamber before Joseph Corcoran’s execution, showing a space that looks like an operating room with a gurney, fluorescent lighting and an adjacent viewing room. They've since offered few other details.

Among 27 states with death penalty laws, Indiana is one of two that bars media witnesses. The other, Wyoming, has conducted one execution in the last half-century.

The Associated Press and other media organizations filed a federal lawsuit in Indiana seeking media access, but a federal judge denied a preliminary injunction last week that would have allowed journalists to witness Ritchie’s execution and future ones. The judge found that barring the news media doesn’t violate the First Amendment nor does it single out the news media for unequal treatment.

The execution in Indiana is among 12 scheduled in eight states this year. Ritchie’s execution and two others in Texas and Tennessee will be carried out this week.

The 2000 fatal shooting of a police officer

Ritchie was 20 when he and others stole a van in Beech Grove, near Indianapolis. He then fired at Toney during a foot chase, killing him.

At the time Ritchie was on probation from a 1998 burglary conviction.

Toney, 31, had worked at the Beech Grove Police Department for two years. The married father of two was the first officer of the small department to be killed by gunfire in the line of duty.

Relatives spoke at a clemency hearing last week in support of the execution.

“It’s time. We’re all tired,” said Dee Dee Horen, who was Toney’s wife. “It is time for this chapter of my story, our story, to be closed. It’s time for us to remember Bill, to remember Bill’s life, and not his death.”

Appealing a death sentence

Ritchie’s attorneys have fought the death sentence, arguing his legal counsel at trial was ineffective because his lawyers failed to fully investigate and present evidence on his fetal alcohol spectrum disorders and childhood lead exposure.

Current defense attorneys say Ritchie suffered “severe brain damage” because his mother abused alcohol and drugs during pregnancy and he’s struggled with decision-making. He was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2005.

Disability rights advocates argued that Ritchie’s brain damage should have excluded him from the death penalty.

“This is a foolish, senseless, agonizing waste of time and money," said Schutte, who added that Ritchie was no longer “the same person who committed that crime.”

Attorney General Todd Rokita said the execution honored Toney’s “sacrifice to the community.”

Republican Gov. Mike Braun rejected Ritchie’s clemency bid last week without explanation.

The Indiana Supreme Court denied a request to stop the execution. Ritchie’s attorneys challenged that decision in federal court, which a judge rejected. The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the lower court on Sunday.

As the sun set Monday, the Rev. Richard Holy, a Catholic priest, recited the rosary with about 20 people in the prison parking lot.

“We don’t have to keep taking one life to exact justice for taking another,” he said.

Dozens also showed up to honor Toney’s memory.

“I support the death penalty in certain cases and this is one of them,” said Mark Hamner, an Indianapolis-area officer.

Expressing regret and awaiting execution

Attorneys said Ritchie changed during his more than two decades behind bars and had shown remorse.

In court as a young man, Ritchie smiled at Horen and laughed as the verdict was read.

He told a parole board he deeply regretted his actions, especially how he acted with Toney’s widow.

“I wish I could go back to the day in court, because that man’s wife deserved to say everything she needed to say to me, and that punk kid should have just kept his mouth shut and let her say whatever she needed to say,” Ritchie said.

Ritchie, who was also a father, spent his last days getting visits from friends and family.

“I’ve ruined my life and other people’s lives, and I’m so sorry for that night,” he told the parole board earlier this month. “You can’t take back what you did.”

___

Tareen reported from Chicago. Associated Press writer John O’Connor contributed from Springfield, Illinois.

Released Israeli-American hostage's parents say the small things bring bliss as he recovers

Tue, 20 May 2025 06:05:47 +0000

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — For two days after Israeli-American soldier Edan Alexander was released from 19 months of captivity in Gaza, he couldn’t eat anything. Despite periods of near starvation while being held by Hamas militants, Alexander just didn’t have an appetite.

Then, his mother, Yael Alexander, put a burger and fries in front of him, and her son dove in.

It was one of many joyful moments his family has experienced since learning he would be freed.

Hamas portrayed the release of Alexander, the last living American hostage in Gaza, as a gesture to President Donald Trump ahead of his Mideast tour last week, which the militants hoped would revive ceasefire talks. Instead, Israel launched a renewed offensive days later that families of the remaining hostages fear could put their loved ones in grave danger.

Alexander's father was somewhat heartened by Israel's announcement Monday that some aid was going into Gaza for the first time in 2 1/2 months.

“That’s the first step forward, so hopefully we’ll see another ceasefire, more releases and the end to this conflict,” Adi Alexander said. “It’s been too long, too much, and you can’t treat agony with more agony. It’s enough.”

He urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to "rise above politics to prioritize human life.”

Eight missed calls on Mother's Day

The family had just finished celebrating Mother's Day at their home in New Jersey when Adi Alexander saw eight missed calls from Steve Witkoff, Trump's Mideast envoy. Witkoff told them to turn on the TV because Hamas was about to announce their son would be released.

“We were freaking out,” he said. The family raced to book flights to Israel. Alexander's mother traveled with Trump’s hostage negotiator, Adam Boehler. His father and the couple's other two children arrived just minutes before Edan Alexander crossed into Israel from Gaza.

Alexander was one of 251 people kidnapped during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, around a third of them believed to be alive, after most of the rest were released in ceasefires or other deals. Israeli forces have rescued eight hostages alive and recovered more than 40 bodies.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count. The campaign has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population.

Moved between tunnels

The lowest point of his 584 days of captivity, Alexander told his parents, was being dragged into Gaza and pushed into a tunnel. For hours, he was held alone underground until 10 other hostages were thrust in with him.

That came as a relief. His father said his son’s biggest fear was being kidnapped alone, like an Israeli soldier captured in Gaza in 2006, who was held for years until he was released in a 2011 exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.

Edan Alexander told his parents he was kept mostly underground and moved frequently between tunnels with other hostages. There was very little food, and he rarely saw sunlight or was able to breathe fresh air. In the beginning, like many other male hostages, he was kept handcuffed, sometimes with a sack over his head, and interrogated.

The 6-foot-tall (180 cm) Alexander dropped to around 130 pounds (60 kilograms) from around 175 pounds (80 kilograms) before he was kidnapped.

The conditions of his son’s captivity improved slightly following Trump’s election in November, Adi Alexander said. During a weekslong ceasefire earlier this year, he was given meat and vegetables for the first time, but that ended once Israel reimposed the blockade on Gaza in March.

A family reunited with their son vows to keep fighting for others

Adi Alexander said the family is beyond grateful to Trump and the American officials who worked tirelessly to free their son. He lived in Maryland as a young child and graduated from high school in Tenafly, New Jersey. He moved to Israel in 2022 and volunteered for the Israeli army.

The day after Alexander's release, American officials Boehler and Witkoff visited what's come to be known as Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, meeting with families of those held in Gaza.

Hostage families said they left the meeting optimistic there would be more releases. But Trump ended a whirlwind trip through three Gulf countries without additional announcements, and Israel renewed its military campaign on Saturday, dashing hopes for immediate releases.

Alexander's parents said as soon as they catch their breath the family will resume the fight to win the hostages' release. They have been a constant presence at rallies, speaking with the media and politicians, shuttling between New Jersey, Washington and Israel. Alexander's terminally-ill great-aunt managed to hold on until he was safe. She died just after hearing he was with the Red Cross, Yael Alexander said.

Moments of quiet as recovery begins

Edan Alexander returned weak and pale, but his parents say they see him gaining strength each day. The hamburger two days after his release was a turning point.

“I was sitting there and looking at him with this big smile on my face, and I’m like, oh my God, because he was like, craving the hamburger,” Yael Alexander said.

For now, Edan Alexander is back in the room in his grandmother’s apartment in Tel Aviv where he stayed during breaks from the army before his abduction.

He’s reconnected with some hostages, including Sagui Dekel Chen, an American-Israeli who was released during the previous ceasefire. He’s visiting with old friends from the army and New Jersey, squeezing in doctor’s appointments between hanging out with his siblings.

There are quiet moments that have stuck out to his mother over the past week, when he does normal things, like scrolling through Spotify. Seeing her three children together. Simply being able to touch him, hug him.

It's a long path to recovery, but there are moments of bliss, like seeing him share a beer with his sister on the hospital rooftop. It was his first “legal” beer, since he turned 21 in captivity, a rite of passage since that's the legal drinking age in the U.S.

“It was like, I’m here, I’m back, I have my sunglasses, I have a beer in my hand, and we are all good,” she said.

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Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Organizations and companies are partnering to introduce Black students in Detroit to golf

Tue, 20 May 2025 04:05:09 +0000

DETROIT (AP) — As a fan, Shaun Horne is all about Detroit's professional sports teams. But when it comes to playing, the high school junior has his eyes on one game.

“I only play golf,” Horne said after taking his turn on a simulator inside a gym on Detroit's westside.

Embracing golf makes the 16-year-old a rarity among his Detroit peers — particularly Black high schoolers.

Coaches and community groups in the city are taking ambitious steps to spread the game's popularity among students — noting that only about 50 of more than 14,000 high school students in Detroit's school district play golf on school teams.

In Detroit, the biggest challenge is exposing Black youth to the game, said Jesse Hawkins, who is Black and coaches Horne’s team at Renaissance High School. Backing from local corporations and nonprofits, providing access to equipment and even college scholarships is helping.

“When you go into high schools and you go into elementary schools often times we’ll hear narratives around basketball players, football games, those things,” Hawkins said. "And golf is really not as propagated as much for our community.”

Who's playing?

In Detroit, advocates of increasing play among Black young people have partnered with some of the city's largest businesses and community organizations. At least two nonprofits offer programs that teach kids how to play golf.

The Rocket Classic has steered nearly $10 million from the annual PGA event held in Detroit to local charitable organizations. Of that, $800,000 has been given to programs that teach kids how to play the game. One program provides access to college scholarships to high school seniors, while upward of 700 children and teens take part each year in programs put on by First Tee of Greater Detroit.

“Golf is the why we get them there, but while we have them there we’re teaching them life skills,” said Carl Bentley, chief executive of First Tee of Greater Detroit, which has donated a golf simulator to the school district. “Learning how to say ‘yes sir, yes ma’am’ — shake a hand properly, how to start a conversation. We’re teaching them life skills and then we get to putting and swinging and things like that."

Among the 28.1 million Americans who played golf on a course in 2024, about 25% were Black, Asian or Hispanic, according to the National Golf Foundation. Interest is wider when considering those who played or followed professional golf coverage on TV, in writing or via podcasts.

But Hawkins said his experience as a coach suggests Black high schoolers aren't among that audience.

“You don’t hear kids talking about the latest golf shoes or the cool golf apparel,” Hawkins said. “You’re not necessarily going to get a badge of honor walking into your high school and you’ve got the newest golf shirt.”

Lack of money is a barrier

Golf and equipment can be pricey, sometimes too pricey for families struggling just to make ends meet.

Detroit, which is just under 80% Black, had a median income of about $39,500 in 2023 compared to $69,100 statewide, according to the census. The city’s poverty level was about 32%. Statewide, that figure was about 13.5%.

A set of good golf clubs can cost a few hundred dollars or more. It's $28 for juniors to play 18 holes and use a cart weekdays at the two public golf courses in Detroit.

The PGA brought its first event to Detroit in 2019, and city native Dan Gilbert's Rocket Companies has been its sponsor. The company works with partners to bring the game to Detroit’s youth and cover some of the costs, said Trina Scott, vice president of Civic and Community Affairs at Detroit-based Rock, which is Gilbert’s family office.

“How do we attract Black and brown youth into seeing (golf) as a possibility?” said Scott. “One way of doing that is by making it accessible (and) also eliminating the barriers — being able to have the right clothing to go on a golf course, being able to have the clubs that you need, being able to have the skillset to be confident on the course.”

From the gridiron to the golf course

Mike Schuchard has about a dozen players on his Detroit Cass Tech golf team. That's about double the number from last season, but only two are considered “varsity level."

That’s not enough to compete against some suburban schools with strong golf programs.

The first-year golf coach says he's trying to recruit students who are already interested in others sports.

“These schools are loaded with great athletes, but they just haven’t been introduced to this game, yet," Schuchard said.

Ahmari Flowers, the senior captain on Cass Tech's golf team, agrees. He started playing the sport after his freshman year.

“I’m an athletic guy and golf like came easy to me," said Flowers, 17. "For an athletic person, it’s still a sport, a lot of body movement and all you got to do is control that athleticism and use it to your advantage.”

Texas man facing execution for elderly clerk's burning death during a 2012 store robbery

Tue, 20 May 2025 04:04:02 +0000

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man is facing execution Tuesday evening for the burning death of an elderly clerk he set on fire during a convenience store robbery more than a decade ago.

Matthew Lee Johnson was condemned for the 2012 death of 76-year-old Nancy Harris, a great-grandmother who was splashed with lighter fluid and set ablaze at a store in Garland, a northeast suburb of Dallas.

Johnson, 49, was scheduled to receive a lethal injection after 6 p.m. CDT at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.

His was one of two executions scheduled for Tuesday in the U.S. In Indiana, Benjamin Ritchie was set to receive a lethal injection for the 2000 killing of a police officer.

These two executions are part of a group of four scheduled within about a week’s time. On May 15, Glen Rogers was executed in Florida. On Thursday, Oscar Smith is scheduled to receive a lethal injection in Tennessee.

David Dow, one of Johnson's attorneys, said he would not be pursuing any final appeals with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to stop the execution. Lower appeals courts had previously rejected requests by Johnson's lawyers to stay his execution. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday denied Johnson’s request to commute his death sentence to a lesser penalty.

In prior appeals, Johnson’s lawyers had argued his death sentence was unconstitutional because he was improperly determined to be a future danger to society, a legal finding needed to sentence him to death. His most recent appeals had argued his execution date had been illegally scheduled.

Security video captured part of the attack against Harris.

Badly burned, she was able to describe the suspect before she died several days after the May 20, 2012, attack. Johnson’s execution is scheduled to take place 13 years to the day Harris was attacked.

Johnson’s guilt has never been in doubt. At his 2013 trial, he admitted to setting Harris on fire. He expressed remorse and called himself “the lowest scum of the earth.”

“I hurt an innocent woman. I took a human being’s life. I was the cause of that. It was not my intentions to -- to kill her or to hurt her, but I did,” said Johnson.

Johnson said he had not been aware of what he had done as he had been high after smoking $100 worth of crack. His attorneys told jurors that Johnson had a long history of drug addiction and had been sexually abused as a child.

In court documents, the Texas Attorney General’s Office said Johnson's various appeals have been efforts to delay a legal death sentence.

“Thirteen years after the commission of Johnson’s crime, justice should no longer be denied,” the attorney general’s office said in a court petition filed last week.

Harris had worked at the convenience store for more than 10 years, living only about a block and a half away, according to testimony from her son, Scot Harris. She had four sons, 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Prosecutors said Harris had only been working her Sunday morning shift for a short time when Johnson walked in, poured lighter fluid over her head and demanded money.

After Johnson grabbed the money from the register, he set Harris on fire and calmly walked out the store, according to court documents. Harris frantically tried to extinguish herself and her clothing, exiting the store and screaming for help before a police officer used a fire extinguisher to douse the flames covering her body. Johnson was arrested about an hour later.

Harris suffered extensive second- and third-degree burns over her head and face, neck, shoulders, upper arms, and leg and was in a great deal of pain in the days before she died, a nurse and doctor testified.

If the execution is carried out, Johnson would be the fourth person put to death this year in Texas, historically the nation’s busiest capital punishment state. If both of Tuesday’s executions take place, that would bring this year’s total to 18 death sentences carried out nationwide.

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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70

Man indicted in fatal February stabbing

Tue, 20 May 2025 03:20:16 +0000

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A Chatham County man was indicted on murder charges on Wednesday, court documents report.

Jeaustin Jesus Calderon-Cerdas was indicted on malice murder, felony murder and aggravated assault.

Cerdas is accused of stabbing Ricardo Jose Urdanivia Feb. 17, 2025.

Savannah Police officers responded to reports of a domestic disturbance on 11400 White Bluff Rd. around 10:54 p.m. They reportedly found Urdanivia suffering from a stab wound.

Cerdas and Urdanivia shared a home together, according to court documents.

Cerdas is being held without bond

UPDATE: 2 arrested after man barricades himself in River Hill home

Tue, 20 May 2025 03:19:56 +0000

JASPER COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV) - A mother and son have been arrested after "several hours of unsuccessful negotiation and non-compliance," officials said Monday.

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said they responded to the home in the River Hill area to serve an arrest warrant on Trent Warren.

Trent Warren, who police said was wanted on multiple charges of domestic violence, barricaded himself inside the home and refused to surrender to law enforcement.

Warren's mother, Celeste Warren, reportedly denied entry to law enforcement and attempted to mislead officers regarding her son’s location, a JCSO spokesperson said.

After several hours, the SLED SWAT team was called in and law enforcement was able to apprehend Trent. He is charged with multiple counts of domestic violence and one count of hindering a law enforcement officer.

Celeste is charged with hindering a law enforcement officer.

Trent Warren (L) Celeste Warren (R), Jasper County Sheriff's Office

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

UPDATE: The Jasper County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) is reporting the situation has been resolved and the subject is in custody. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is now handling the investigation. ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Jasper County Sheriff's Office (JCSO) reported an individual barricaded themselves in the Rivers Hill area around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

An increased law enforcement presence can be expected.

JCSO is reporting no threat to the public and asks everyone to please avoid the area.

Savannah alderman issues cease-and-desist order against alderwoman

Tue, 20 May 2025 03:13:58 +0000

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - A Savannah alderman has fired back at allegations of corruption made publicly by fellow alderwoman, issuing her a cease-and-desist order Monday.

"Ms. Lanier’s allegations lack any sort of truth or candor to the community of the people that she serves," Detric Leggett's (District 2) Attorney Boone Phillips said. "Her allegations, frankly, are reckless disregard of the truth. She did no due diligence. She did no research, and the problem is, it's completely contrary to the character of Mr. Leggett."

Leggett and Phillips sat down with WSAV to respond to allegations and discuss the order.

"We're really confused as to why she would make statements like this. None of this has any bearing in truth whatsoever," said Phillips.

In a May 6 press conference Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier (District 1) held and called "Check Your Savannah," she called Leggett a "Rogue Alderman," and alleged he interfered in police affairs, paying off Pooler Police officers from arresting his relatives during a drug trafficking case.

Phillips called those allegations "reckless" and "baseless."

"Mr. Leggett didn't pay off anybody. It's absolutely ridiculous to insinuate Mr. Leggett has paid someone off, especially a member of the Pooler Police Department," said Phillips. "It's reckless for her to say something like that without any proof whatsoever. It did not happen, and we can absolutely show that it did not happen."

WSAV has obtained a copy of police report of alleged incident that occurred Aug. 8, 2024, in the parking lot of the Pooler Walmart.

Detric Carlton Leggett, 28, in apparent relation to Leggett, was listed an offender but was not arrested. Two other offenders, Omar Jackson, 24, and Domonique Beauford, 32, were arrested and charged with Drug Trafficking and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

Both have since been indicted in Chatham County Superior Court.

The report said Leggett Jr. left the scene. No records have indicated he is facing charges.

The Pooler Police Department (PPD) denies the allegations officers were paid off, and sent WSAV the following statement:

"I searched our reports for the name Detric Legget and found one report from August 2024 in which that name was involved. This case is, in fact, still open and pending prosecution within Chatham County Superior Court. The fact that the case is still open and ongoing goes against the allegations of the Pooler Police Department being paid off to stop the case from moving forward; therefore, we deny said allegations."

Lanier has also made allegations Leggett weaponized city and county police to "harass his best friend's child's mother and her gentlemen friend."

Leggett has also denied those allegations in the order.

The order demands Lanier retract the allegations and in the form of a public letter that should be posted on her social media and sent to media outlets.

"The things she said were completely false and she needs to be honest about that," said Phillips. "She needs to tell the community that it is false and right the wrongs she's made against Mr. Leggett."

Per the order, Lanier has seven days to retract her statements about Leggett and adhere to its demands. If she does not, Phillips said he will take legal action against the alderwoman.

Read the full letter here:

LANIER-CEASE-AND-DESIST Download

Man accused of murder in Kindale Park Road homicide

Tue, 20 May 2025 02:58:00 +0000

WILLIAMSBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) - Deputies in Williamsburg County have arrested a man accused of shooting and killing a person on Sunday.

David Fulton, 69, was arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Authorities responded to a shooting report on Kindale Park Road in Kingstree. When they arrived, they found an individual suffering from a gunshot wound in the yard, according to the Williamsburg County Sheriff's Office.

EMS attempted life-saving measures, but the victim ultimately died from their injuries.

Investigators discovered the victim and Fulton were in an altercation before Fulton fired.

Fulton was taken to the Williamsburg County Detention Center. An investigation is ongoing.

1 injured after tree falls in weather-related incident

Tue, 20 May 2025 02:55:42 +0000

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A person was injured Monday evening after a tree fell on two vehicles in Dorchester County.

The weather-related incident happened on Wire Road at Murray Cemetery Road. There was also marble-sized hail reported with the cell that passed over the area.

Nearby in Reeseville, a large oak tree fell, knocking down power lines on Maple Branch Road at Twins Lane.

Officials did not say how severe the person's injuries were. News 2 has reached out for further information.

Mount Pleasant conducts underwater and above-water inspections on Shem Creek

Tue, 20 May 2025 02:19:05 +0000

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) - The Town of Mount Pleasant began conducting a portion of its above-water inspections Monday on Shem Creek.

Crews were looking above and below some of the boardwalks and bridges at Shem Creek, ensuring that they are up to National Bridge Inspection Standards. The town makes safety a priority for the popular destination for tourists and locals.

"First is safety, safety is always first with Mount Pleasant town government. So, it was done four years ago. We try to make sure every bridge and boardwalk is inspected at least every five years, and this is every four years," Will Haynie, mayor of the Town of Mount Pleasant, said. "[It] gets a lot of traffic out there, we want to make sure. Also, it's exposed to some pretty corrosive elements out there."

In addition to the above-water inspections, divers are expected to come to the creek on Wednesday and do checks underwater. There will be a safety boat in the water during that time. Officials urge boaters and pedestrians to keep a safe distance as the crews look for wear-and-tear on the materials.

"They are trained, they know what to look for. To look for any signs of weakening, any corrosion, wood - even though it's treated wood or cement pylons depending on where it is. It can be corrosive, it can eat away things at the base of it from tidal action or propeller action - you can have sand or sill moving," said Haynie.

The mayor added that because the town owns this boardwalk, they must regularly maintain it as it's a high traffic area.

"I mean one - most towns don't have a creek like that with restaurants, shrimp boats, kayaks and recreational boats out there," Haynie said. "Two, to have it basically encircled with public boardwalks is quite a blessing to have, but the price of that is you have to consistently monitor them for safety and you have plan for the maintenance and for the repairs."

As this is a routine inspection that evaluates the immediate safety, it also serves as a way for the town to plan ahead of time in case there is an emergency in the future.

"It helps us with the long-term financial planning for the town. Replacing something like that can be very expensive, and if we were to have to, we need to know that way ahead of time instead of us scrambling on an emergency basis," said Haynie.

The work is expected to be complete by May 23.

Former FBI director James Comey calls controversy over Instagram post 'a bit of a distraction'

Tue, 20 May 2025 02:15:39 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Former FBI director James Comey says that he's still a bit bewildered over how a seemingly innocent Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to allegations by Donald Trump among others that he was calling for the president's assassination and to an interview with the Secret Service.

“It’s been a bit of a distraction, honestly,” Comey said with a weary laugh Monday night during an appearance at a Barnes & Noble on Manhattan's Upper West Side.

Comey was promoting “FDR Drive,” a crime novel coming out this week. One of the book's themes, ironically, is weighing the potential of speech to incite others to violence.

Comey, whom Trump fired in 2017 amid an FBI investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump’s first presidential campaign, explained Monday that he and his wife, Patrice, had been returning from a walk on the beach last Thursday when they came upon some shells organized in a way that resembled numbers, including “86.”

They speculated over whether it was a home address, or a political message. His wife noted that “86” in some restaurants means they had run out of an ingredient. Comey remembered it was slang for saying something was boring and should be “ditched.”

“And she said, ‘You should take a picture of it.' So I took a picture of it, and then we walk home and she said, ‘You should really put that on Instagram. It’s kind of a cool thing.’ I said, 'You’re right. It’s a cool thing,’” he explained.

To many viewers, the numbers seemed to spell out 86 and 47. Merriam-Webster, the dictionary used by The Associated Press, says 86 is slang meaning “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” It notes: “Among the most recent senses adopted is a logical extension of the previous ones, with the meaning of ’to kill.'”

Trump is the country's 47th president.

“Some hours later she (Patrice) said to me, ‘You know, people on the internet are saying you’re calling for the assassination of Donald Trump," Comey explained. “And I said, ’Well, if they’re saying that, I’m taking it down because I don’t want any part of violence.'"

Comey quickly pulled the image, but it had already reached the attention of Trump and other administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump himself, interviewed on Friday on Fox News, said that Comey "knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant. If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant assassination. And it says it loud and clear.”

Comey confirmed Monday that he received a call from the Secret Service later Thursday, spoke to them on the phone and agreed to meet with them in person.

"And so they gave me a ride to their headquarters, the Washington field office interviewed me," he said. “It seems like a year ago, but it was Friday, right? I told them what I just told you. And so I, it seems like a thing that I don’t fully understand and maybe it'll go away now."

Comey has written several books since Trump fired him, including the million-selling memoir “A Higher Loyalty.” More recently, he has taken up fiction, his previous novels including “Central Park Drive” and “Westport.”

Overdose deaths plummet by nearly 27% last year

Tue, 20 May 2025 01:44:28 +0000

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) - Overdose deaths plummeted in 2024, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported nearly 30,000 fewer lives lost compared to the previous year.

The nation is seeing the largest one-year decline recorded, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The CDC reported Georgia saw a 22% drop in 2024.

Dr. Jay Goldstein, assistant medical director with Memorial Health said there are two key drivers for the overdose decline: awareness and education.

“There's just a better awareness of the overdose potential and that you know that you have this reversal agent,” he said. “So not only is it awareness for the consumer, the one that's actually using the drugs, but it's also an awareness for the firefighters, the paramedics, the police officers and then health care worker. So, we’re able to get to those people more rapidly and save their lives with the with the reversal agent of Narcan.”

Goldstein said age range varies from teenagers to people in their 60’s. He added most commonly it is 25 to 40-year-olds.

“There are fentanyl test strips out there, there's an awareness of where they're getting the drugs from, and it's a safer environment for those who are going to use that,” he said. “They use it more safely also. But obviously the big thing for us is that we're trying to educate, especially the younger folks, to just never use. We feel like at this point we're seeing a drop off in the consumer and the addiction starting in the younger ages.”

He said locally, we are no stranger to trends and waves of drug infestation in the community. He told WSAV individuals still need to watch for the alteration of certain substances like drugs laced with fentanyl.

“We're actually trying to get a program up and running here at Memorial [Health] where a drug overdose might come in and we can actually start them on drugs that will prevent them from wanting to have drug overdoses such as like Suboxone…,” Goldstein said.

He added, “I think mental health is a big aspect of things. I think social isolation, since we're coming out of the COVID pandemic, has made a major difference and then also the ability to have treatment programs. So not only do we have treatment programs that people can go to, which had dried up and now they’re getting more plentiful, but also the ability when they come into a clinic and they have an overdose, to try and attack them then and treat them there.”

Dr. Goldstein told WSAV while this is a sign of progress, there is still work to do.

It's heat safety week in South Carolina

Tue, 20 May 2025 01:34:52 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Gov. Henry McMaster has proclaimed this week as “South Carolina Heat Safety Week,” and it comes as temperatures rise ahead of the summer season.

Officials have shared tips on how to stay safe in the heat; people are reminded to drink plenty of water, avoid physically difficult activities during the hottest parts of the day, usually between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., and never leave children or pets unattended in vehicles—even for a few minutes.

A seasonal forecast released by the Climate Prediction Center in April shows a warmer-than-average outlook for nearly every state over the next three months.

The heat index reached nearly triple digits for many in the Lowcountry last week, with almost record-breaking temperatures.

While nearly the entire U.S. is expected to see warm weather, the East Coast expects more rain than average over the next three months, which could help the drought conditions.

You can find more heat safety tips by clicking here.

Democratic Rep. McIver charged with assault after skirmish at ICE center, New Jersey prosecutor says

Tue, 20 May 2025 01:18:14 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver is being charged with assault after a skirmish with federal officers who arrested the Newark mayor outside an immigration detention center, New Jersey's top federal prosecutor announced Monday.

Interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba on social media announced the charge of assaulting, impeding or interfering with law enforcement, but court papers providing details were not immediately released or publicly available online.

At the same time, Habba announced that her office was dismissing a misdemeanor case brought against Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who was arrested after he attempted to join McIver and two other members of New Jersey’s congressional delegation inspecting the facility in their oversight capacity. Habba said the decision was reached “for the sake of moving forward" and said she has invited the mayor to tour the Delaney Hall detention center and will join him herself.

“The citizens of New Jersey deserve unified leadership so we can get to work to keep our state safe,” Habba said in a statement.

McIver’s attorney, Paul Fishman, the former U.S. attorney for New Jersey, issued a statement calling the decision to charge McIver “spectacularly inappropriate,” saying she went to Delaney Hall “to do her job” and she has the responsibility as a member of Congress to oversee U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's treatment of detainees.

“Rather than facilitating that inspection, ICE agents chose to escalate what should have been a peaceful situation into chaos,” Fishman said. “This prosecution is an attempt to shift the blame for ICE’s behavior to Congresswoman McIver. In the courtroom, facts — not headlines — will matter.”

Related video: Newark mayor arrested outside federal detention center

A nearly two-minute clip released by the Homeland Security Department shows McIver on the facility side of a chain link fence just before the arrest of the mayor on the street side of the fence. She and uniformed officials go through the gate and she joins others shouting “surround the mayor.” The video shows McIver in a tightly packed group of people and officers. At one point her left elbow and then her right elbow push into an officer wearing a dark face covering and an olive green uniform emblazoned with the word “Police” on it.

McIver and the two other Democrats — Bonnie Watson Coleman and Robert Menendez Jr. — have denied any wrongdoing and had accused federal agents of escalating the situation by arresting the mayor.

“There’s no video that supports me body slamming anyone,” McIver said in a recent CNN interview. “We were simply there to do our job. ... It was a very tense situation. It unfortunately did not have to be like that. They created that confrontation. They created that chaos and then ultimately went to arrest the mayor.”

In a post on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said McIver was being charged after a “thorough review of the video footage” and investigation by Homeland Security Investigations.

“Assaults on federal law enforcement will not be tolerated,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a post on X. “This Administration will always protect those who work tirelessly to keep America safe.”

McIver, 38, first came to Congress in September in a special election after the death of Rep. Donald Payne Jr. left a vacancy in the 10th District. She was then elected to a full term in November. A Newark native, she served as the president of the Newark City Council from 2022 to 2024 and worked in the city’s public schools before that.

Coroner confirms fatality in Bluffton crash

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:42:41 +0000

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WSAV) — The Beaufort County coroner confirmed that there was a fatality in the U.S. 278 and Rose Hill Way crash Monday.

Coroner Debbie Youmans confirmed the fatality to WSAV before 3:30 p.m. Monday. Youmans said that an investigation was underway.

Six vehicles were involved in the crash, South Carolina Highway Patrol Corporal Nick Pye reported. Three vehicles involved were traveling west on U.S. 278 and the other three were traveling east.

A Ford pickup truck struck two vehicles westbound before traveling over the median and hitting two vehicles traveling east, a Nissan sedan and a Chevrolet truck.

A sixth car, a Toyota van, then hit the Ford truck and the Chevrolet truck, Pye said.

The Chevrolet driver sustained fatal injuries after being hit by the Ford and the Toyota van.

The Ford truck driver and front seat passenger were taken to a local hospital. The driver of the Nissan sedan was also taken to the hospital.

Others involved in the crash weren't injured, Pye reported.

The crash remains under investigation by South Carolina Highway Patrol.

Lanes were blocked around 12:40 p.m. and reopened at 5:20 p.m.

WSAV will update when more information is available.

Search continues for 6 of 10 men who escaped from New Orleans jail, reward for info increases

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:30:50 +0000

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Days after 10 men escaped from a New Orleans jail by slipping through a hole behind a toilet and scaling a wall, six of them remained on the run Monday, and up to $20,000 in rewards was being offered for information leading to the capture of each escapee.

The FBI on Sunday increased its reward amount from $5,000 to $10,000 per escapee, while the CrimeStoppers reward was increased from $2,000 to $5,000, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was offering $5,000. The latest arrest came late Monday when a fourth fugitive, Gary Price, was taken into custody.

FBI Special Agent Jonathan Trapp said during a news conference that he believes members of the public may be helping them and, if that's the case, would be arrested on charges of aiding or abetting them.

The men range in age from 19 to 42 and face a variety of charges including aggravated assault, domestic abuse battery and murder. While three of the men were quickly caught and a fourth later, a multiagency task force has been assembled to scour the region for the remaining fugitives.

What are jail officials saying?

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson said the men were able to get out of the Orleans Justice Center because of “defective locks,” and possibly with help from people inside her department.

“It’s almost impossible, not completely, but almost impossible for anybody to get out of this facility without help,” she said Friday of the jail where 1,400 people are being held.

Just days before the escape, Hutson’s office had asked for money to fix faulty locks and cell doors. During the city’s Capital Improvement Plan hearing on May 12, Jeworski “Jay” Mallet, Chief of Corrections for the Orleans Justice Center, said the current system at the jail was built for a “minimum custody type of inmate.”

Mallet went on to say that some of the cell unit doors and locks have been “manipulated” to the point that not only are they not secure, but some can’t even be closed properly. But he classified many at the jail as “high security” inmates who are awaiting trials for violent offenses, including charges such as murder, assault and rape.

Surveillance footage, shared with media during a news conference, showed the escapees sprinting out of the facility — some wearing orange clothing and others in white. They scaled a fence, using blankets to protect themselves from barbed wire, and some sprinted across an interstate and into a neighborhood.

The escape

A law enforcement photograph obtained by The Associated Press shows the opening through which the men escaped. Above the hole are scrawled messages that include “To Easy LoL” with an arrow pointing at the gap.

Friday's escape is drawing intense scrutiny and criticism. It took hours for sheriff's officials to realize the men had escaped and then more time still to alert New Orleans police, even though some of the missing men are accused of violent offenses and they escaped into a neighborhood less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from the city's famous French Quarter.

“Someone clearly dropped the ball and there's no excuse for this,” Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said on X.

Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams, who said he prosecuted one of the people who escaped, told New Orleans news station WWL-TV he was “angry.”

“This is absurd,” he said. “I don't understand how it is feasible that it could have occurred.”

Why did it take hours to learn about the escape?

The escapees yanked open a door to enter the cell with the hole around 12:30 a.m. By 1:30 a.m., they were outside the jail, according to the sheriff's office.

But it was not until a routine morning headcount more than seven hours later that law enforcement learned they were missing.

Officials from the sheriff’s office say no deputy was at the pod where the fugitives had been held. There was a civilian employee there, but she had stepped away to get food, they said.

There appeared to be a further delay before New Orleans police were notified.

“You’ve given a head start to some very dangerous people,” Williams told WWL-TV Friday.

Soon after the escape, one of the men, Kendall Myles, 20, was apprehended in the French Quarter after a brief foot chase.

Three sheriff's employees have been placed on suspension pending the outcome of an investigation. It was not immediately clear whether any of the employees were suspected of helping with the escape. Officials also didn’t say if the employee who left to get food was among the three suspended.

Who are the men who escaped?

Most of the men are in their 20s. Myles and the other two men who were earlier captured, Robert Moody, 21, and Dkenan Dennis, 24, were taken by helicopter to a state correctional facility outside the New Orleans area, Louisiana State Police said Saturday.

The agency said one of the men became hostile during the transfer, requiring troopers to use a “spit hood.” They did not identify the man.

Dennis had been charged with armed robbery with a firearm and illegal carrying of a weapon during a crime of violence, according to Murrill, the attorney general. Moody was facing a weapons charge as well as charges of attempted second-degree battery and obstruction.

Murrill said both men will face additional charges stemming from the escape.

One of the fugitives, Derrick Groves, was convicted on two charges of second-degree murder and two charges of attempted second-degree murder last year for his role in the 2018 Mardi Gras Day shootings of two men. Another escapee, Corey Boyd, had pleaded not guilty to a pending second-degree murder charge.

The jail has had problems before

The justice center opened in 2015, making it a relatively new facility, but it has still experienced violence and security problems.

Hutson said the facility is around 60% staffed, so the staff is “stretched thin."

Bianka Brown, chief financial officer of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, said the jail can’t afford a maintenance and service contract to fix problems such as broken doors, lock replacements and other ailing infrastructure.

The jail contained numerous “high security” people convicted of violent offenses who required a “restrictive housing environment that did not exist,” said Jay Mallett, Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office chief of corrections. The sheriff’s office was in the process of transferring dozens to more secure locations.

Hutson is facing reelection this year, and at least one of her opponents, former interim New Orleans Police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork, demanded she answer questions about the escape. Williams, the district attorney, appointed Woodfork to a position in his office last year.

Noting the sheriff's race was starting, Hutson called the timing of the escape “suspicious." She did not elaborate.

President Trump signs Take It Down Act, addressing nonconsensual deepfakes. What is it?

Tue, 20 May 2025 00:25:52 +0000

President Donald Trump on Monday signed the Take It Down Act, bipartisan legislation that enacts stricter penalties for the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery, sometimes called “revenge porn," as fell as deepfakes created by artificial intelligence.

The measure, which goes into effect immediately, was introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and later gained the support of First Lady Melania Trump. Critics of the measure, which addresses both real and artificial intelligence-generated imagery, say the language is too broad and could lead to censorship and First Amendment issues.

What is the Take It Down Act?

The law makes it illegal to “knowingly publish” or threaten to publish intimate images without a person's consent, including AI-created "deepfakes." It also requires websites and social media companies to remove such material within 48 hours of notice from a victim. The platforms must also take steps to delete duplicate content. Many states have already banned the dissemination of sexually explicit deepfakes or revenge porn, but the Take It Down Act is a rare example of federal regulators imposing on internet companies.

Who supports it?

The Take It Down Act has garnered strong bipartisan support and has been championed by Melania Trump, who lobbied on Capitol Hill in March saying it was “heartbreaking” to see what teenagers, especially girls, go through after they are victimized by people who spread such content.

Cruz said the measure was inspired by Elliston Berry and her mother, who visited his office after Snapchat refused for nearly a year to remove an AI-generated “deepfake” of the then 14-year-old.

Meta, which owns and operates Facebook and Instagram, supports the legislation.

“Having an intimate image – real or AI-generated - shared without consent can be devastating and Meta developed and backs many efforts to help prevent it,” Meta spokesman Andy Stone said in March.

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a tech industry-supported think tank, said in a statement following the bill's passage last month that it “is an important step forward that will help people pursue justice when they are victims of non-consensual intimate imagery, including deepfake images generated using AI.”

“We must provide victims of online abuse with the legal protections they need when intimate images are shared without their consent, especially now that deepfakes are creating horrifying new opportunities for abuse,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “These images can ruin lives and reputations, but now that our bipartisan legislation is becoming law, victims will be able to have this material removed from social media platforms and law enforcement can hold perpetrators accountable."

Klobuchar called the law's passage a “a major victory for victims of online abuse” and said it gives people "legal protections and tools for when their intimate images, including deepfakes, are shared without their consent, and enabling law enforcement to hold perpetrators accountable.”

“This is also a landmark move towards establishing common-sense rules of the road around social media and AI," she added.

Cruz said “predators who weaponize new technology to post this exploitative filth will now rightfully face criminal consequences, and Big Tech will no longer be allowed to turn a blind eye to the spread of this vile material.”

What are the censorship concerns?

Free speech advocates and digital rights groups say the bill is too broad and could lead to the censorship of legitimate images including legal pornography and LGBTQ content, as well as government critics.

“While the bill is meant to address a serious problem, good intentions alone are not enough to make good policy,” said the nonprofit Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group. “Lawmakers should be strengthening and enforcing existing legal protections for victims, rather than inventing new takedown regimes that are ripe for abuse.”

The takedown provision in the bill “applies to a much broader category of content — potentially any images involving intimate or sexual content” than the narrower definitions of non-consensual intimate imagery found elsewhere in the text, EFF said.

“The takedown provision also lacks critical safeguards against frivolous or bad-faith takedown requests. Services will rely on automated filters, which are infamously blunt tools,” EFF said. “They frequently flag legal content, from fair-use commentary to news reporting. The law’s tight time frame requires that apps and websites remove speech within 48 hours, rarely enough time to verify whether the speech is actually illegal.”

As a result, the group said online companies, especially smaller ones that lack the resources to wade through a lot of content, “will likely choose to avoid the onerous legal risk by simply depublishing the speech rather than even attempting to verify it.”

The measure, EFF said, also pressures platforms to “actively monitor speech, including speech that is presently encrypted” to address liability threats.

The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative, a nonprofit that helps victims of online crimes and abuse, said it has “serious reservations” about the bill. It called its takedown provision unconstitutionally vague, unconstitutionally overbroad, and lacking adequate safeguards against misuse."

For instance, the group said, platforms could be obligated to remove a journalist’s photographs of a topless protest on a public street, photos of a subway flasher distributed by law enforcement to locate the perpetrator, commercially produced sexually explicit content or sexually explicit material that is consensual but falsely reported as being nonconsensual.

Local non-profit thrift stores see steady foot traffic despite tariffs

Mon, 19 May 2025 22:41:29 +0000

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C (WSAV) -- Recent tariffs are said to be impacting businesses, including non-profits. The Beaufort Salvation Army shut its doors just last month, blaming the shaky economy. Now some folks wonder if other local nonprofits will share the same fate.

“Business is up. We are up about 30 percent in sales across the board,” said Jill Rubin, the Manager of Treasure House Thrift Store in Beaufort.

Rubin said they haven’t seen those impacts. If anything, she said they are thriving in the current economy.

CAPA Thrift Store of Beaufort agreed. They said they have never been busier.

"We have a lot a lot of new customers coming in, a lot of new faces from around the neighborhood. And a lot of people even coming through, just traveling and stopping in,” said Rubin.

Franny Gerthoffer, the director of The Litter Box Thrift Store on Hilton Head Island, said they haven’t necessarily seen an increase in clientele but it has remained at a comfortable level.

“The customer base is a steady flow. We are in a vacation area so we do see a lot of people who are visiting the island who stop at the store.”

Since the Litter Box Thrift Store is in a tourist area, many visitors come into their store. But Gerthoffer said they also rely on local customers and their donations.

There is concern that tariffs will increase the costs of goods from big box stores. Some thrift stores are worried people will choose to hold on to old clothes and other items instead of buying new. That would eventually lead to a slowdown in donations.

So far, that doesn't seem to be the trend in the lowcountry.

“We seem to be holding steady in both cases, comparatively from this time last year to this time this year,” said Gerthoffer. “It is a steady stream and we're extremely grateful, obviously, to all our donors because that's how we survive.”

3 indicted in connection to E. 50th shooting

Mon, 19 May 2025 22:33:53 +0000

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — Three people were indicted Wednesday on charges connected to a February shooting on E. 50th Street.

After being dispatched to the 2000 block of East 50th Street on Feb. 18, Savannah Police officers found a male juvenile suffering from a gunshot wound. He was treated on scene and transported to a local hospital for treatment.

While officers were still on the scene, Jemond Burke arrived at the hospital also suffering from a gunshot wound, a Savannah Police Department spokesperson said in February.

Burke, Jeremiah McIntosh and Zion Stewart reportedly arranged to meet to trade for an AR style firearm at the victim's home, grabbed the victim and held him at gunpoint. The victim was then shot, according to the indictment.

According to court documents, Burke is charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

McIntosh is charged with aggravated assault, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

Stewart is charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery and criminal attempt to commit a felony.

Charleston tourism generated $14 billion in 2024: officials say visitors are spending more

Mon, 19 May 2025 21:22:24 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) Charleston's tourism industry is booming, and this year saw a large increase in its economic growth. Officials are working to make sure the economic benefits of the tourism industry reach residents, with this upward trend.

The Future of Responsible Tourism Advocacy Aorum aims to create a roadmap for the tourism industry in the Lowcountry, with an emphasis on benefitting locals

Explore Charleston reports they had over 14 billion dollars in economic impact from the tourism industry just last year from around 7.8 million visitors.

"We've seen a spike that happened immediately out of covid. We've rebounded fairly quickly from covid, and we've seen a steady growth ever since then so it's great to see still tracking on an upward trend even through 2024," said Dan Blumenstock, the Board Chairman for Explore Charleston's Board of Governors.

Officials say data from 2024 showed a 7 % increase in economic impact from the previous year, with just a 1% increase in visitors. According to officials, this trend means visitors to Charleston are spending more and staying longer, making Charleston one of the top tourism cities.

"If you look across the southeast and all those cities, we compare ourselves to, we are the strongest across all of those cities," said Blumenstock.

The Historic Charleston Foundation is hosting the Future of Responsible Tourism Advocacy Forum Tuesday night. They are partnering with the City of Charleston, Explore Charleston and the Bloomberg Associates.

Bloomberg Associates will work with city leaders on a future road map for the tourism industry in Charleston and how they can improve their tourism management. Leaders say one goal is working to make sure that locals feel the economic impact of tourism.

"We need to make sure we are honoring the needs of the residents while at the same time honoring a smart strategic tourism vision," said Winslow Hastie, the President of the Historic Charleston Foundation.

They're hoping for tourism dollars to go straight back into the community.

"We’re very interested in focusing on how the dollars generated by tourism mainly in the public sector, accommodations tax and hospitality tax, how we can ensure those dollars are reinvested in the community to benefit the local community which also benefits tourists," said Hastie.

The Bloomberg Associates are hoping to return in the fall with ideas to improve the tourism management in Charleston.

Man indicted in 2024 shooting

Mon, 19 May 2025 21:03:49 +0000

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — A man was indicted on Wednesday for a 2024 shooting.

Santonio Brown allegedly shot a woman on Jan. 28, 2024. According to the Savannah Police Department (SPD), the incident took place at the intersection of Whitaker and Congress streets around 2:30 a.m.

Photo from 2024

On the scene, they found the victim suffering from a gunshot wound. She was immediately treated on scene, SPD said, and then transported to Memorial Health.

Brown is facing the following charges: aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

SCDNR launches 'GatorWise' project

Mon, 19 May 2025 21:01:58 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources wants you to stay “GatorWise” this summer.

The agency announced Monday the release of its alligator information project, called GatorWise, which aims to promote guidance on how to act when coming into contact with an alligator. The main goal is to minimize conflict between humans and alligators.

Biologists say the program is important because it will offer a central place for states in the southeast to reference information about alligator safety, especially as human development grows in alligator habitats.

“The introduction of GatorWise is important because information about how humans should behave around alligators is similar across the southeast, but until now, each state has had to manage their own outreach sites and information," said Morgan Hart, SCDNR Alligator Biologist. "We hope that being able to reference a central place for information will help people and alligators coexist safely”.

SCDNR said alligators are a robust species that can thrive in areas where development occurs, as long as the people in these areas understand how to responsibly coexist with them.

With the weather warning, the agency said it’s important for people to remember that it is normal to see alligators moving around and basking in rivers, ponds and lakes.

You can learn more by visiting gatorwise.org.

Colleton County deputies investigating deadly drive-by shooting

Mon, 19 May 2025 20:31:07 +0000

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – Authorities in Colleton County are investigating a deadly drive-by shooting.

Deputies with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office responded to an address on King Street in Walterboro around 3:40 p.m. Saturday and found one person dead in the backyard of a home.

The sheriff’s office believes the shooting was a targeted attack involving multiple people exchanging gunfire.

Detectives have identified a person of interest. They are currently processing evidence and conducting interviews.

“The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office is committed to protecting our community and takes this level of violence very seriously,” the agency said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact CCSO by calling 843-549-2211.

Drive-by shooting leaves 1 dead in Walterboro

Mon, 19 May 2025 19:46:41 +0000

WALTERBORO, S.C. (WSAV) — The Colleton County Sheriff’s Office has launched an investigation after a man was shot and killed in Walterboro Saturday.

Colleton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies responded to reports of a drive-by shooting in the 200 block of King Street around 3:40 p.m. Saturday.

They found one adult man deceased in the backyard of the residence, officials said.

Detectives have identified persons of interest after finding that the incident "was a targeted attack involving multiple individuals exchanging gunfire," a CCSO spokesperson said.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office.

North Charleston PD to dedicate patrol boat in honor of fallen K9

Mon, 19 May 2025 19:21:24 +0000

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Officials in North Charleston will gather Friday to dedicate a new patrol boat in memory of fallen North Charleston Police Department K9 Mojo.

According to the agency, Mojo was killed on February 15, 2018, by an impaired driver while serving in the line of duty.

The vessel is a 27-foot boat that now bears Mojo’s name and will patrol the local waters as tribute to the heroic K9’s ultimate sacrifice.

“Mojo was known for his bravery, instincts, and drive to serve,” said Harve Jacobs, a department spokesperson.

The dedication will take place at 9:30 a.m. outside North Charleston City Hall on City Hall Lane.

If passed, bill would impact South Carolina's short-term rental process

Mon, 19 May 2025 18:12:58 +0000

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WSPA) - If you’ve ever used a short-term rental company like Airbnb or VRBO -- you might want to continue reading, because a bill in the South Carolina State House may change the way the companies operate.

The bill, which passed in the state house, could change how taxes on short-term rentals are collected.

The legislation is concerning to some property management companies.

Currently, when booking through a short-term rental platform, the service collects accommodations and sales taxes to then send to the state.

If ratified, renters would be paying taxes directly to a property manager.

David Bergmann works for Bluefield Realty Group, a Greenville-based short-term rental company; he said the change would be bad for business.

"This would leave our business in a spot where we may not be here a year from now," he said.

The bill’s sponsor, Representative Lee Hewitt (R - Georgetown), admitted the bill has been controversial, because it deals with tax money that goes to counties and cities.

“The cities and the county said, 'because these are rentals and commercial residential type properties, it demands more services from us, so we need to collect more taxes from them,' so if it is a house, which is what it is now being used as -- it should be taxed like a house," Hewitt said.

Airbnb called the bill unnecessary because the marketplace platforms currently collect and send accommodation taxes on behalf of property management companies.

“[It] create[s] substantial complications by creating three separate regimes for collecting local taxes, something no other state requires,” a company statement reads.

For Bergmann, he said it’s all about power and control. He added that lawmakers want to see the industry revert back to what it was 20 years ago.

"But the way that the industry has moved is towards third-party intermediary, who protects the consumers," he continued. "The legacy property managers and those that represent them would like to introduce bills that would take us back to the old way of doing things.”

Airbnb added that the bill would create privacy concerns for guests because it would require accommodation intermediaries to provide confidential consumer information, including credit card numbers, to hosts.

If the bill is passed by the Senate in 2026 and signed by Governor Henry McMaster, it will become law.

Georgetown County deputies make 28 arrests, write hundreds of tickets during Spring Bike Rally

Mon, 19 May 2025 16:18:12 +0000

GEORGETOWN COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) -- Georgetown County deputies made 28 arrests and wrote hundreds of tickets during the just-concluded Spring Bike Rally on the Grand Strand.

With many of the events during the 10-day event taking place in the Murrells Inlet area, the sheriff's office said deputies conducted "enhanced traffic enforcement to combat speeding and unsafe driving."

Those efforts resulted in four people being arrested for driving under the influence and two dozen people being arrested on drug charges, the sheriff's office said.

Overall, deputies handed out 771 tickets, including 298 for speeding. They also issued 507 warnings. News13 has asked Horry County authorities to provide similar statistics.

This year's rally was a deadly one, with authorities reporting at least four deaths in three separate motorcycle-related crashes, including one that happened overnight on Towne Centre Parkway near Breakers Drive in Horry County that killed two people.

The others include a crash early Sunday that killed a 40-year-old Laurinburg, North Carolina, woman, who was a passenger on a motorcycle that crashed in the North Myrtle Beach area and one Friday morning that killed a 51-year-old man who police said swerved to miss an animal in the roadway in Conway.

1 injured in domestic-related shooting on Patriot Boulevard, police say

Mon, 19 May 2025 16:04:33 +0000

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – Authorities in North Charleston are investigating a domestic-related shooting that left a person injured.

The incident happened around 2 a.m. Sunday on Patriot Boulevard near the North Charleston Aquatic Center, according to an incident report from the North Charleston Police Department.

The report said officers found a man in the driver’s seat suffering from a gunshot wound. He was treated at the scene and then taken to a local hospital.

During an initial investigation, officers learned that the passenger, an off-duty Mount Pleasant officer, and the suspect were involved in a verbal altercation, which escalated into a physical altercation involving a gun.

According to the report, the man was shot during a struggle for the firearm.

The suspect and victim have been in a romantic relationship for years, the victim told police, adding that there had been “multiple domestic incidents” during their relationship that have not been reported.

NCPD officials said no charges have been filed, and the investigation is ongoing.

The Mount Pleasant Police Department said the off-duty officer involved in this incident was placed on administrative leave.

Dorchester County deputies seize drugs, weapons after citizen reports suspicious activity behind Walmart

Mon, 19 May 2025 16:02:33 +0000

DORCHESTER COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A report of suspicious activity behind a Dorchester Road business led to the arrest of two men on drug and weapons-related charges.

Deputies with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office were patrolling the Walmart Neighborhood Market parking lot on Saturday when a citizen alerted them to possible suspicious activity behind the building.

The deputies responded to the area and found two men matching a description given by the concerned citizen.

“Upon making contact, deputies noted that one of the individuals was speaking very slowly, slurring his words, and had pinpoint pupils. Deputies also observed what appeared to be a fresh needle mark on the suspect’s arm,” said Steven Wright, public information officer for the sheriff’s office.

Deputies recovered three loaded long rifles, two handguns, two clear plastic bags containing a clear, shard-like substance, and three individual bags containing an off-white and gray powdery substance during a vehicle search.

Maxim Tony Lusico, 23, of Myrtle Beach, is charged with trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking fentanyl, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

David Charles Lord Jr., 48, of Summerville, is charged with trafficking methamphetamine and trafficking fentanyl.

Both were taken to the L.C. Knight Detention Center.

“The Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office has zero tolerance for individuals who traffic deadly drugs in our community. Protecting the safety, security, and quality of life for our citizens is our highest priority. I commend the outstanding work of our deputies in making these arrests and look forward to prosecuting these suspects to the fullest extent of the law,” said Dorchester County Sheriff Sam Richardson.

Crews to inspect Shem Creek boardwalks, bridges

Mon, 19 May 2025 14:40:47 +0000

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Inspections are set to begin Monday on Shem Creek’s boardwalks and bridges.

The Town of Mount Pleasant Public Services will perform above-water and underwater inspections Monday through Friday, according to the town.

While town officials said there won’t be any closures of the boardwalk during inspections, they ask all boaters and pedestrians to “remain alert and cautious” during the project.

“A diver safety boat will be present, as divers will be conducting underwater inspections of town infrastructure. For everyone’s safety, please pay close attention to the safety boat and maintain a safe distance from the inspection areas at all times,” the town said.

Here's who's on death row in South Carolina

Mon, 19 May 2025 12:17:47 +0000

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) -- South Carolina currently has 26 inmates on death row, including Stephen Stanko, whose death warrant was issued Friday by the state Supreme Court.

Stanko, who is set to be executed on June 13, killed two people in 2005 in Horry and Georgetown counties: his girlfriend, 43-year-old Laura Ling of Murrells Inlet, and his friend, 74-year-old Henry Turner of Conway.

Stanko would be the sixth inmate killed in South Carolina since an unintended 13-year pause on executions ended in September 2024. The state struggled for years to get the drugs needed for lethal injections until it passed a shield law that allowed the execution procedures, and the names of the drug supplier and execution team members, to remain secret.

Five South Carolina inmates have been executed since the state resumed executions in September: Mikal Deen Mahdi by a firing squad on April 11; Brad Keith Sigmon by a firing squad on March 7; Marion Bowman Jr. by lethal injection on Jan. 31; Richard Bernard Moore by lethal injection on Nov. 1; and Freddie Eugene Owens by lethal injection on Sept. 20.

Across the U.S., 16 executions have taken place in 2025, with at least six more scheduled before Stanko is set to die.

Here is a list of the 26 prisoners currently on death row in South Carolina. All but one -- Mitchell Carlton Sims -- are being held at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Columbia. They are listed in alphabetical order:

BAYAN ALEKSEY

County: Orangeburg

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Sept. 1, 1998

Aleksey is accused of shooting and killing Sgt. Franklin Lingard on New Year's Eve in 1997 after Lingard stopped Aleksey's Ford Mustang.

Aleksey shot Lingard through the driver's side of the car. There was a woman and two children in the vehicle at the time.

The shooting led to a chase, during which Aleksey held a gun to his head and threatened to kill himself if law enforcement approached him. He then drove off again and was stopped after an officer deliberately crashed into the Mustang.

Aleksey has given two conflicting statements to law enforcement. In the first, he claims the woman was driving the car and shot Lingard, before swapping seats with Aleksey. In the second, he confessed to the shooting.

STEVEN VERNON BIXBY

County: Abbeville

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Feb. 21, 2007

The Bixby family started threatening South Carolina Department of Transportation officials in 2003 after the department planned to take advantage of a right of way on the family's property during the construction of SC-72.

The Bixby said they would "fight to the death" if SCDOT attempted to do construction work on the site, and that they'd kill law enforcement officials who "trespassed" on the property.

Bixby killed Deputy Danny Wilson and Constable Donnie Ouzts days later. Dozens of law enforcement were sent to the property, and Bixby was arrested after a gunfight.

Bixby has had several disciplinary sanctions in prison, including for threatening to hurt an employee and for hitting an employee, according to prison records.

RICKY LEE BLACKWELL SR.

County: Spartanburg

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: March 17, 2014

Blackwell was convicted of shooting and killing an 8-year-old girl in July 2008, after his wife left him. The girl, Brooke Center, was the daughter of his wife's new boyfriend.

Blackwell flagged his wife down after he went to her parents' house. She got out of the car to secure a dog and turned around to see that Blackwell had grabbed Brooke and had a gun pointed at the child.

Court documents state that Blackwell told his wife that she had "pushed this to far" and "did this." After shooting the girl multiple times, he ran into the woods and shot himself in the stomach. He was found guilty of kidnapping and murder.

STEPHEN CORY BRYANT

County: Sumter

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Oct. 31, 2005

Bryant murdered three people during an eight-day crime spree in October 2004. He'd go to isolated, rural homes in the middle of the day claiming that he was looking for someone or was having car trouble. He later returned to a home, cut its phone wires and stole a gun. The same day, he shot a man in the back while the man was fishing along the Wateree River.

He then killed an acquaintance, left the body on a rural road and stole electronics from the man's trailer before setting it on fire. Two days later, he went to another home, shot a man nine times and stole more items. He answered calls made to the man's phone and told the man's wife and daughter that he was the "prowler."

He wrote the word "catch" on a wall in blood. He wrote "victim number four in two weeks, catch me if you can," on another wall.

A few days later, he shot and killed another man who he met at a convenience store.

While awaiting trial, he threatened one correctional officer and then attacked and seriously injured another. While incarcerated, he has been disciplined for fighting.

LUZENSKI ALLEN COTTRELL

County: Marion

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: April 7, 2005

Myrtle Beach Officer Joe McGarry was getting coffee with another officer in December 2002 when he spotted Cottrell. Cottrell was a suspect in the murder of Rick Hartman, whose body was found a month earlier. McGarry and the officer approached Cottrell outside, and asked him about a case he was previously involved in.

While waiting to see if Cottrell had active warrants on him, McGarry patted down Cottrell, who then ran away. The two got into a scuffle and Cottrell shot McGarry, who fell backwards and hit his head on the pavement.

Cottrell was arrested after a gunfight with police and a car chase.

DONNIE COUNCIL

County: Aiken

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Oct. 23, 1996

Council had hogtied and duct tapped Elizabeth Gatti, a 72-year-old widow, whose body was found underneath a bedspread in her basement. In addition to suffocating her, Council was convicted of sexually assaulting her. A pathologist told a jury at trial that he had also forced her to drink cleaning fluids.

She survived for two to four hours after being sexually assaulted. Her body was found in the ransacked house after a neighbor noticed she hadn't gotten her newspaper that morning.

WILLIAM DICKERSON

County: Charleston

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: May 7, 2009

William Dickerson and other men are accused of torturing Gerard Roper for 36 hours in March 2006. Roper, who owed Dickerson money, begged for his life.

Dickerson initially shot at Roper, missed and then hit him in the head with his gun and dragged him into a car.

During the torture, Roper's teeth were knocked out when he was hit with a gun. While multiple men tortured Roper, prosecutors said that Dickerson was the main aggressor. He was accused of choking Roper, tying him up, placing him in a closet, sodomizing him with a gun and broomstick, burning his scrotum, hitting him with a heavy vase and a mirror, and cutting him.

Roper received more than 200 individual, external wounds and had several internal injuries. Dickerson is accused of making multiple calls during the torture, telling people what was happening.

Dickerson was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct. While in prison, he has been disciplined for hitting and threatening employees.

RON O'NEAL FINKLEA

County: Lexington

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Sept. 7, 2007

Finklea shot and killed Walter Sykes, a security guard at Selectron, in August 2003. Once inside the facility, Finklea let another man -- who was carrying a gasoline can -- into the building to douse an ATM with gasoline.

Soon after, Sykes, who was on fire and bleeding from his neck, ran from the building. He died on the front lawn from his burns and gunshot wounds to his face and neck. Video from the sites shows that Finklea shot Sykes and set him on fire.

After being arrested, Finklea tried to kill himself in his cell, which led to him sustaining a brain injury. He claims that he has amnesia and cannot remember what happened the day of the murder. A physician who examined him found that there was evidence of brain damage, and that Finklea likely wasn't faking memory loss.

MAR-REECE HUGHES

County: York

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Sept. 25, 1995

Hughes stole a car from two college students at gunpoint in September 1992 in Charlotte. Hughes, along with Eric Forney, drove the car to Rock Hill, where they were stopped by law enforcement for driving without their headlights on.

Forney and Hughes shot and killed Deputy Sheriff Brent McCants. Forney, who has claimed that Hughes was the shooter, has been sentenced to life in prison after prosecutors pursued the death penalty.

While in prison awaiting trial, Hughes killed his sleeping cellmate by stabbing him in the throat with a shank. He was stabbing another inmate when he was stopped by prison guards.

While incarcerated, he has been disciplined for at least two instances of threatening to harm an employee. He also attempted to escape in July 1999.

JERRY BUCK INMAN

County: Pickens

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: June 9, 2006

Inman murdered Tiffany Marie Souers, a Clemson University student, in May 2006. Souers' partially-clothed body was found by her roommate. She had been sexually assaulted and died after Inman strangled her with a bathing suit top.

Inman then tried to use her ATM card at two different machines. He was caught after his evidence was run through the National DNA Database, which already contained his information due to previous sexual offenses.

JEROME JENKINS JR.

County: Horry

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: May 17, 2019

Jenkins shot and killed two clerks during separate robberies at Sunhouse stores in 2015.

While awaiting trial, he displayed threatening behavior at maximum security facilities, including throwing feces at employees, according to information presented at his trial.

TIMOTHY RAY JONES

County: Lexington

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Sept. 12, 2014

Jones killed his five children -- 8-year-old Merah, 7-year-old Elias, 6-year-old Nahtahn, 2-year-old Gabriel and 1-year-old Abigail Elaine -- in 2014. Their bodies were found in trash bags in a field in Alabama days later.

He strangled at least four of the children, who he has said he killed after Nahtahn accidentally died after doing exercises as punishment. He had custody of the children at the time and had previously been reported to state authorities for child abuse.

He pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, claiming that he had schizophrenia.

MARION A. LINDSEY

County: Spartanburg

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: May 25, 2004

Lindsey shot and killed his wife, Ruby Nell Lindsey, who was in a car with a friend and the women's two children.

The car was in the parking lot of a police department, where the Ruby's friend had driven, after being approached by Lindsey. Lindsey pointed his gun at an officer, who fired four rounds and wounded Lindsey.

Lindsey had hit Ruby multiple times in front of witnesses while they were married. In one instance, he beat her in a restaurant parking lot and left before an officer could arrest him. He had previously threatened to kill her.

The night before the murder, he was arrested on a warrant for criminal domestic violence and was released on a $1,000 bond.

TYREE ALPHONSO ROBERTS

County: Beaufort

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Oct. 23, 2003

Roberts killed Beaufort County Sheriff's Office deputies Dyke Coursen and Dana Tate when they responded to a trailer after Roberts' romantic partner tried to leave him. When authorities arrived, Roberts hid in the bedroom closet with a rifle, and shot the deputies when they were searching the bedroom.

While running away, Roberts told a woman -- who he also had a daughter with --who was staying at the trailer "I just killed those two white b------ and I'm going to say it was self-defense."

Coursen had been shot six times. Tate had been shot seven times. Roberts was found hiding in mud underneath a bridge with a shoulder and hip wound.

He has been disciplined twice in prison for threatening employees.

JAMES D. ROBERTSON

County: York

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: March 27, 1999

Robertson was sentenced to death after killing his parents, Earl and Terry Robertson, in March 1997. He was also convicted of armed robbery and financial transaction card fraud.

He stabbed his mother to death, blinded his father with bathroom cleaner, and then crushed his skull with a hammer and a baseball bat.

MITCHELL CARLTON SIMS

County: Berkeley

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: June 28, 1989

Sims killed John Harrigan, a Domino's Pizza employee, while Harrigan was delivering Sims and his girlfriend a pizza a at motel room in 1985. He also tried to killed two other Domino's employees after showing up to the store wearing Harrigan's shirt.

Although Sims had managed a Domino's in West Columbia, and then was a delivery driver in Hanahan, he committed the murder in California.

Sims had resigned from the business after part of his bonus was withheld. He had told his girlfriend that he planned to use explosives to kill his former boss.

After killing Harrigan, he drove to a Domino's Pizza and tied two employees up in the cooler. They were required them to stand on their tiptoes to avoid being strangled. He also robbed the store.

Harrigan's body was found in a bathtub with his wrists and ankles bound, his head covered with a pillow case that had been tied around his neck, and a washcloth in his mouth, which was held in place by sock that had been tied around his head. A pathologist determined that Harrigan might have drowned.

He is currently held outside of the death row facility.

FRED SINGLETON

County: Newberry

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Sept. 19, 1983

Family member found 73-year-old Elizabeth Sease Lominick's body in her bedroom in September 1982. She had been strangled with a bedsheet and sexually assaulted.

Singleton was arrested in Georgetown County with her jewelry and car.

Singleton was convicted of murder, burglary, larceny, grand larceny of a motor vehicle and first-degree criminal sexual conduct.

STEPHEN CHRISTOPHER STANKO

County: Georgetown

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: Oct. 18, 2006

Stanko murdered his girlfriend, Laura Ling, and Henry Turner in 2005. He also raped and assaulted Ling's teenage daughter.

After killing Ling, he killed 74-year-old Turner. Stanko was later arrested in Georgia. He had previously been convicted of kidnapping and assault.

NORMAN STARNES

County: Lexington

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections: April 25, 1997

Starnes murdered Bill Welborn and Jared Champlain after they went to eat at his restaurant in January 1996. When they didn't return home, their girlfriends reported them missing, and police received leads in May 1996 that led authorities to the bodies.

The night of the murder, Starnes took money out of the cash register three times. He told his girlfriend that Welborn had pistol whipped him in the bathroom, and Starnes said he'd kill them. He later told his girlfriend that he killed the men during a drug deal.

After shooting and killing the two, Starnes urinated on them, placed their bodies in his truck and drove into the woods. When the bodies began to smell, he dug up the graves and covered the bodies with lime. His girlfriend eventually tipped off law enforcement and told them where the bodies were buried.

While the men were missing, Starnes had appeared on TV asking for help finding the two.

BOBBY WAYNE STONE

County: Sumter

Date to Department of Corrections: Jan. 28, 1997

Stone was convicted of shooting and killing Sgt. Charles Kubala, after Kubala responded to multiple calls at a property where Stone was wandering with a gun. Kubala was shot in the ear and neck.

Authorities found Stone in the woods with the murder weapon. He claimed that the shooting was an accident.

GARY DUBOSE TERRY

County: Lexington

Date to South Carolina Department of Corrections:

Pilot walks away unharmed after plane crashes in Greenville Co., officials say

Mon, 19 May 2025 12:14:19 +0000

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) - A pilot managed to walk away unscathed after his plane went down in Greenville County.

At approximately 2:18 p.m., authorities responded to a call on Old Bramlett Road about a small plane making an emergency landing in a construction site of a planned subdivision. Authorities said that the sole occupant of the plane is uninjured.

The crash was first reported at 2:18 p.m. in Greenville County, S.C. on May 18, 2025 (Map: WSPA)

On a sunny Sunday afternoon, Greenville County resident Robert Hall noticed something unusual, a swarm of emergency vehicles entering the construction site across from his home.

“I was out here working on my friend's race car, and then we saw the fire department pull up, didn't know what was going on, then the cops pulled up over there," Hall said.

Hall checked Facebook and discovered his neighbors talking about a plane crash in the neighborhood.

"I was thinking we never heard anything. My kids are actually in the swimming pool right there and never even heard nothing," Hall added. "So, me and my kids walked across the street, looked over the hill and seen the airplane.”

Only a couple hundred yards from his house, Hall was met with quite the scene: A small silver plane flipped over and surrounded by fire trucks.

"I always look at the airplanes and think what would happen if one fell or something, but you never think it would happen right across the street from your house.”

Parker District Fire along with other agencies responded to the scene, Deputy Chief Jason Gordon tells told 7NEW it wasn't a usual call, “I have been doing this for 30 years. This is my first airplane crash. We don't really get that out here, were more rural so it's just one of those things you don't see every day.”

Authorities said there was only one occupant in the aircraft who walked away without a scratch.

"Talked to the pilot, he said the oil pressure started dropping so he knew he had to land somewhere and found this an open field and he took it down right here and he did an excellent job. The airplane is damaged pretty well, but for him to walk away from a plane crash is pretty awesome," Gordon added. "Not even a scratch, which was great, I told him you need to go buy a lottery ticket.”

Last week, an aircraft made an emergency landing at Greenville Downtown Airport after the pilot notified air traffic control of an issue with the plane’s landing gear. The pilot landed the plane safely and was uninjured.

Charleston warns residents to stay safe of extreme heat with Lowcountry Heat Action Plan Toolkit

Sat, 17 May 2025 01:49:46 +0000

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) -- Summertime temperatures are approaching, and as we get ready for a hot weekend here in the Lowcountry, the City of Charleston has put together a Heat Action Plan Toolkit.

The Lowcountry Heat Action Plan Toolkit is meant to protect residents from health risks in the event of extreme heat events, developed by the Citadel's near center for climate studies. The tool kit helps residents prepare for the impacts of extreme heath, with a unique focus on the Lowcountry's past, current, and future climate data.

"People are really seeing more impacts to extreme heat so bringing this education and the world, so people elevate the awareness of the issues, so people really take it seriously as seriously as we do with flooding," said Kaylan Koszela, the Director of Resilience for the City of Charleston.

According to officials, heat is the number one cause of weather-related deaths, because Charleston has a different climate than other hot areas. This first-of-its-kind tool kit is developed specifically to the Lowcountry, with special resources to the Charleston area.

"Our GIS team helped develop this interactive map that residents can pull up and find community centers, libraries community polls and identify where folks can come cool off if they need to. It helps inform decisions for the city of where maybe we need the city to plant trees or working with residential partners to plant trees, so it's been very helpful," said Koszela.

MUSC is one of the groups aiding in the research between the heat index and health risks: an important issue in Charleston because of the humidity. They found an association between heat index and mortality rate in their research.

"We did find when the heat index was about 99 or 100 the mortality rate was a little higher. Then after 100 it went back down so I suspect that means when it's really hot that means people don't go out and do stuff but when its 99 or 100 people think oh well, we deal with that all the time," said Dulaney Wilson, an MUSC Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences

The tool kit has data and tools to evaluate heat dangers and important information about the signs of heat illness and steps you can take to protect yourself and others.

"It's the first of its kind here in our region for a one stop shop tool kit for people to gain knowledge and resources when it comes to extreme heat and why people should be paying attention on a day like today when it's really hot," said Koszela.

There will be a public webinar for anyone who wants to learn more about beating the heat on May 20th that you can register for here.

South Carolina man convicted of murdering two people gets a June execution date

Fri, 16 May 2025 16:40:36 +0000

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina man who was twice sentenced to die for killing two people nearly two decades ago was scheduled Friday to be executed on June 13.

The state Supreme Court issued the death warrant against Stephen Stanko for the Horry County shooting death of a friend. Stanko is also on death row for killing a woman he was living with in Georgetown County and raping her teenage daughter.

Stanko is the first person whose death has been scheduled in South Carolina's since Mikal Mahdi was executed by firing squad on April 11. Mahdi's lawyers released autopsy results that show the shots that killed him barely hit his heart and suggested he was in agonizing pain for three or four times longer than experts say he would have been if his heart had been hit directly.

Stanko will get to decide if he dies by firing squad, lethal injection or the electric chair. The deadline for his decision is May 30.

The crimes

Stanko, 57, is being executed for killing his 74-year-old friend Henry Turner. Stanko went to Turner's home in April 2006 after lying about his father dying and then shot Turner twice while using a pillow as a silencer, authorities said.

Stanko stole Turner's truck, cleaned out his bank account and then spent the next few days in Augusta, Georgia, where he told people in town for the Masters golf tournament that he owned several Hooters restaurants. He stayed with a woman who took him to church. She then called police once she saw his photo and that he was wanted for murder, police said.

Hours before killing Turner, Stanko beat and strangled his girlfriend in her home and raped her daughter before slashing the teen's throat. The daughter survived and testified against him at one of his trials.

Greg Hembree, who prosecuted one of the trials, later became a state senator and was the chief sponsor of the 2021 law that allowed South Carolina to use a firing squad.

His own lawyer called him a ‘psychopath’

Stanko admitted to the killings. His defense said he had problems with the frontal lobe of his brain that left him aggressive, unable to control his impulses and without empathy. They argued that he was either not guilty by reason of insanity or that he at least shouldn't get the death penalty because of his mental illness.

In his appeals, Stanko said his trial attorney ruined his chance at a fair trial and lost any sympathy with jurors by calling him a “psychopath."

Firing squad problems

Any final appeals by Stanko in the weeks before his execution will likely include the problems Mahdi's lawyers raised after his firing squad death.

The only photo of Mahdi taken at his autopsy shows two apparent chest wounds. Officials said all three bullets fired by the three volunteer prison employees hit Mahdi, with two going through the same hole.

During the state's first firing squad death, the autopsy found that Brad Sigmon's heart had been destroyed. Just one of the four chambers of Mahdi's heart was perforated, which likely meant he didn't die in the 15 seconds experts predicted he would have if the squad's aim was true, according to his lawyers.

Witnesses said Mahdi, who had a hood over his head, groaned 45 seconds after he was shot.

South Carolina's busy death chamber

Stanko will be the sixth inmate killed in South Carolina since an unintended 13-year pause on executions ended in September 2024.

The state struggled for years to get the drugs needed for lethal injections until it passed a shield law that allowed the execution procedures, and the names of the drug supplier and execution team members, to remain secret.

Three South Carolina inmates have died by lethal injection over the past eight months, while two have chosen the firing squad.

Across the U.S., 16 executions have taken place in 2025, with at least six more scheduled before Stanko is set to die.

SCDNR program restores oyster populations through recycled shells

Fri, 16 May 2025 16:02:57 +0000

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WSAV) — Oysters are a vital source in the Lowcountry, whether that’s to our ocean environment, or our bellies.

Once a year, the species gets a little help from humans to restore their beds to make sure they remain a thriving population.

“They filter water, they provide a central fish habitat,” said Michael Hodges, a wildlife biologist with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). "They can help stabilize our banks from erosion. So, they are a very important species to have in our estuaries."

Every year, thousands of oyster shells are loaded onto a boat, hauled back off to the ocean, and replanted in creeks along the Lowcountry shore.

It’s part of SCDNR’s Shellfish Ground Management Operation.

“We plant material to grow new oysters as part of the management plan that we have with the agency as a way to propagate new oyster reefs so that we can ensure that we have oysters for future harvest,” said Hodges.

Welk shells and limestone are also added into the planting material. Hodges said the welk shells were harvested out of South Carolina waters a few decades ago, and the limestone mined in South Carolina, dates to around 25 million years old.

“Anything that oysters will grow on, we'll put it out so that we can provide that foundation for those larval oysters,” said Hodges.

The oyster shells used are recycled through SCDNR’s South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) program. Hodges said those recycled shells can range from a couple of years old to millions of years old.

Hodges emphasized that developing oysters look to settle and form their shells along other formed beds, so putting the recycled shells back into the ocean is vital to their growth.

“By planting this substrate and by having a robust naturally occurring oyster population, we are ensuring that those oysters have a much higher chance of survival and becoming a true oyster,” said Hodges. “They settle on that material; they secrete a cement so they're not mobile anymore and then they start to get bigger.”

Hodges said the oysters in South Carolina grow on average about an inch a year. With the reseeding, fresh and local oysters will be ready for harvest in a few years.

“Some areas grow slower, some areas grow faster, but usually within three years we'll see that harvestable size. About three inches are the bigger oyster that people want to harvest for consumption,” Hodges said.

The SCORE program is reliant on others, like the community and restaurants across the state, to donate the used shells back.

Last year the SCORE program reached a record number of bushels recycled since creating the program. They recycled 40,204 bushels, making them one of the largest oyster shell recycling programs in the nation.

“We do rely heavily on people to recycle their shells because we can’t go pick up a bushel at everyone's doorstep. And so hopefully the more people learn about the value that oysters have, the more they would be willing to bring those shells back to us so that we can plant them on the shoreline.”

Hodges said the SCORE program has a recycling side, and a community-based side.

Volunteers from the community can participate in hands-on activities with SCDNR. Some examples include recycling shells, building oyster reefs, and planting marsh grass.

Here are the 31 drop off locations for oyster shell recycling across the state. Here is a list of volunteer opportunities coming up in Beaufort.

James Island to memorialize teen hit while skateboarding at dangerous intersection

Fri, 16 May 2025 15:23:28 +0000

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) -- The town of James Island on Thursday memorialized a teen while drawing attention to auto-pedestrian safety along Fort Johnson Road.

Residents in the area said the intersections are the most dangerous parts to go through along Fort Johnson Road on James Island.

"Me and my 4-year-old nephew were on a scooter, and a car ran the stop sign and threw me and my nephew off the scooter," said Shelby Ivery, a resident on James Island.

According to Charleston County, there have been 38 accidents at the Fort Johnson-Camp Road intersection over the last five years. There have been over 40 at the Fort Johnson-Seccessionville Road, including one just this week.

Data from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety shows there were 17 crashes involving injury last year, and one traffic-related death. The number of traffic fatalities has already seen an increase in 2025, with two people killed as of May.

"We just had a serious accident coming from that intersection this past Monday. There have been a lot of crashes there, it's a hard intersection to see. You've got people coming out of the stone post, Fort Johnson is heavily trafficked. It's a mess, I avoid it at all costs, and I'm looking forward to the roundabout being completed," said James Island Mayor Brook Lyon.

Charleston County is working on intersection improvement projects to make these roadways safer and draw attention to the dangers that speeding drivers pose.

Thursday night at the town hall, James Island hopes to memorialize Gabriel Seagraves, who lost his life almost 10 years ago. He was skateboarding at the intersection of Secessionville Road and Kentwood Circle when a speeding car coming off of Fort Johnson Road hit him. At Thursday's town council meeting, members will vote on a measure to rename that intersection in his honor

"It would be in memory of him, 10 years to the accident, and what would’ve been his 25th birthday. He had a bright future; he wanted to be an astronomer; he was in the accelerated program, he was an accomplished artist, a member of his church, he had a promising future which was cut short," said Darren "Troy" Mullinax, a James Island councilman.

South Carolina sex trafficker who beat, starved and tattooed women sentenced to 40 years

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 20:20:19 +0000
Two years after his arrest, Eric Rashun Jones’ victims were still too scared to come to court, federal prosecutors in South Carolina say.

Ex-boyfriend killed woman sitting next to police car, SC cops say. He’s prison-bound

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:57:49 +0000
The victim recorded the accused shooter approaching her car, officials say.

Ex-boyfriend killed woman sitting next to police car, SC cops say. He’s prison-bound

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:57:49 +0000
The victim recorded the accused shooter approaching her car, officials say.

Can Clemson use taxpayer money in lawsuit against ACC? SC Senate sounds off

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 16:53:04 +0000
The conference’s total withdrawal fee has been ballparked at $572 million.

Plan to let South Carolina colleges raise tuition rates axed out of Senate budget

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:32:29 +0000
The idea was proposed after colleges asked for $128 million to freeze tuition rates, but lawmakers could only offer a fraction.

Search for hit-and-run driver after man is seriously injured, Columbia police say

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 13:24:10 +0000
The victim was found by a garbage truck worker and off-duty officer, according to the Columbia Police Department.

Using social media to demand the executions of public officials lands SC man in prison

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 12:20:20 +0000
The man called for killing law enforcement officers and their families, as well as taking judges and their families to be “brutalized in the streets,” the U.S. Attorney said.

Historic SC plantation with ties to Robert E. Lee sells for $9 million. Take a look

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 10:00:00 +0000
This historic South Carolina plantation with ties to Robert E. Lee just sold for $9 million. Here’s what to know about it.

SC K-12 teachers pay raise locked in for next year. Here’s how educator pay is changing

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 09:30:00 +0000
The minimum starting pay for teachers in South Carolina this year is currently $42,500 a year.

Remedy or gateway drug? Doctors, police differ on path forward for medical marijuana

Thu, 25 Apr 2024 09:00:00 +0000
Medical marijuana is up for discussion again. What do doctors and lawmakers have to say?

Officers charge suspects following largest drug bust in department history

Sun, 23 Jan 2022 13:12:00 +0000