Columbia City Paper

By Todd Morehead

AIKEN

Convenience stores targeted by con man impersonating a cop

No one has fallen for the scam yet, says the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, but they still want to catch the person who is calling and threatening area convenience stores, claiming to be a police officer.

According to the Aiken Standard, an unidentified male has phoned at least one convenience store claiming that he is a police officer with evidence of a store employee who sold either alcohol or cigarettes to a minor. The caller then offers to destroy the evidence if money is wired to him. The caller has identified himself as both a S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) officer and as a homicide detective with the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.

“Neither of those is true,” Capt. Troy Elwell told the Standard.

The caller has given numerous names and has asked that the money be wired to a number of different addresses in the Columbia area.

CHARLESTON

Casino boats may be coming to North Charleston

North Charleston Mayor, Keith Summey, says he has the necessary votes to remove a city law banning casino boats. The boats, which currently only operate out of Myrtle Beach, sail out into international waters to host casino style gambling out of the reach of state law.

City officials believe the boats could bring the city as much as $1.5 million a year.

MYRTLE BEACH

Boy suffers nasty run-in with shark

Myrtle Beach officials report that a 10-year-old boy has been bitten by a shark while swimming off the South Carolina coast.

The boy suffered a bite wound on his leg and was treated at a local hospital. The attack is the second this year in South Carolina waters. The other attack occurred off Fripp Island in June.

NEWBERRY

New Black Panthers hold rally in Newberry

Around a hundred demonstrators, some pumping their fists or holding signs that read “Black Power”, recently marched from a Newberry park to the steps of the Newberry County Courthouse, calling for improved race relations in South Carolina.

Some demonstrators said they were upset because they believe local police pull over black motorists without proper cause and hassle black youths. Others cited a number of injustices ranging from poor housing conditions to racism in public schools. The crux rally centered around the June murder of a local black man named Anthony Hill by his white co-worker, Gregory Collins. Collins has been charged with killing Hill and then dragging his body behind a pickup truck.

Malik Zulu Shabazz, president of the New Black Panther Party, addressing the crowd through a megaphone on the courthouse steps, said he believes Collins did not act alone and accused Newberry authorities of not doing enough to investigate a hate crime.

Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster says it is up to the U.S. Justice Dept. to rule the case a hate crime, since South Carolina currently has no hate crime laws on the books. Foster said he has so far seen no indication that Collins acted with others.

“[Shabazz] has obviously got information that we don’t have,” Foster said.

SPARTANBURG

Woman arrested at McDonalds for stuffing sandwich down pants

Spartanburg police say an area woman is facing charges after she allegedly stuffed a sandwich down her pants at a McDonald’s restaurant.

Responding officers said Lori Turner, 39, was screaming at employees about being cheated out of a second sandwich she had ordered. What really happened, police say, was that Turner ordered two sandwiches and two coffees and while the drinks were being made she stuffed one of the sandwiches in her pants, claimed she never received it, and demanded a replacement. Officers were alerted to the ruse when they noticed a grease stain spreading on her pants.

Turner was charged with public disorderly conduct and was later released on bond.

SUMMERVILLE

Intoxicated man dies after trying to “slap the train”

A Summerville man celebrating his 23rd birthday died last week after trying to touch a passing train outside a local bar.

Witnesses told Summerville police that Justin Helton had been drinking at the Ice House Bar & Grill and had, at one point in the evening, argued with his ex-girlfriend. Around 1:45 a.m., reports say, Helton told someone at the bar that he was going to “slap the train” as it passed on a nearby track. One witness, who watched from the front porch of the bar, said Helton walked up to the train with his arms outstretched as the wind whipped his shirt. The Dorchester County coroner believes Helton’s foot got caught in the track before he was struck by the train. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The incident marks the second time an intoxicated Ice House patron has been struck by a train. Two months ago, Christopher Ryan Coleman told police he was walking the tracks home from the bar while texting his wife when he said he was “sucked under” a train. Coleman sustained no serious injuries and was later arrested for trespassing on a train right of way.

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