Drug sweep nets 23 arrests

December 28, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

The Greenwood Police Department sent a clear message to drug dealers around the city Wednesday: It’s time to find a new line of work.
Police arrested 23 people Wednesday on a wide array of drug charges. The department is still pursuing eight more individuals in the roundup.
“Some agencies will have busts or stings and their operations will have a certain name,” Police Chief Gerald Brooks said. “Here, it’s sort of an ongoing project. We have had the warrants on many of these individuals for some time, and we felt like (Wednesday) was the appropriate time to serve those warrants.”
The sweep was completed with intelligence gathered from Greenwood Police officers, undercover officers and confidential informants. Brooks said one reason the warrants were held was to maximize the effectiveness of undercover officers and informants.Brooks said the sweep began at 6 a.m., with officers using intelligence gained through investigations to make their arrests. The chief said he hopes the bust will give Greenwood residents confidence that the department is working hard to get drugs off the street.
“We certainly hope this has a positive effect in the community,” he said.
“We wish we could get dealers off the street after each sale that is made, but in order for these operations to be successful, there is a bit of patience required,” Brooks added.
Brooks said the arrests should serve as a warning to other dealers in town.
“It’s time for them to get out of the business,” he said.
Arrested in Wednesday’s operation were:
* Frankie Lynn Brown, 52, of 613 Cross St., Greenwood. Two counts of distribution of controlled substance. Two counts of distribution of controlled substance within half-mile of a school.
* Prentice Jermaine Smith, 22, of 200 Holman St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Dejarrius Keytonio Fisher, 24, of 733 Truett Ave., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a school.
* Antonio Lee Warren, 28, of 527 Liner St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a school.
* Randy Lamont Gilliam, 26, of 1401 Phoenix St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Demetrius Demond Terry, 26, of 517 Jordan St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Desheka Lashawn Crenshaw, 33, of 514 Sumpter St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Aaron Andrew Austin, 25, of 212 Sullivan St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a school.
* Anthony Jerome Susewell, 51, of 514 Marion Ave., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Moses Golden, 50, of 116 N. Hospital St., Greenwood. Distribution of an imitation controlled substance.
* Darryl Anty, 48, of 643 Deans Alley, Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a school.
* Anthony Jermaine Butler, 25, of 210 Cemetary Road, Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Faith Monteze Greene, 40, of 106 Kirksey Drive, Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine in proximity of a playground.
* Ronnie Jerome Moore, 38, of 623A Grier St., Greenwood. Possession of crack cocaine with intent to distribute.
* Daryl Lamar Quarles, 25, of 353 Washington Ave., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Jamie Cornelius Lewis, 24, of 300 Lindsay St., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Grady Leon Thomas, 36, of 140A Circular Ave., Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine in proximity of a playground.
* Dwight McDuffie, 40, of 815 Neal St., Greenwood. Conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine.
* Rufus Lee Hogan, 51, of 123 Oakhill, Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Nicholas Jacobus Deveromen, 25, of 218 Virginia Ave., Greenwood. distribution of imitation controlled substance.
* LaKavin Santwez Dunlap, 22, of 347 Powers Ave., Greenwood. Two counts of distribution of crack cocaine. Two counts of distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Mandricus Lavorsier Irvin, 26, of 305 Paradise Court, Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.
* Randale Deshan Mitchell, 21, of 214 Mineral Court, Greenwood. Distribution of crack cocaine. Distribution of crack cocaine within half-mile of a playground.

Godfather of Soul’s links to Lakelands

December 28, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal staff writer

Famed soul singer James Brown had friends, fans and followers all over the world, sold millions and millions of albums and performed for crowds in venues ranging from hole-in-the-wall clubs and packed arenas and super-sized stadiums.
But he was never too busy to pay back a debt to a friend.
Brown, 73, died Monday in Atlanta of congestive heart failure after being hospitalized with pneumonia.
Some folks around the Lakelands have been reminiscing about the fiery entertainer, who was born in Barnwell and raised in Augusta.
“James Brown has been a consistent seller for us for many years,” said Bob Tucker, owner of B&T Music and More on U.S. 25. “He was a phenomenon, really. I’ve been in the music business for 39 years, and few have continued to sell records like James Brown.”
Tucker noted he has sold copies of Brown’s greatest hits every week for years, also saying album sales for the “Godfather of Soul” have spiked since his death.
“That’s what happens sometime when genius is forgotten,” Tucker said. “Sometimes it takes someone passing away to jog people’s memories about how great they once were.”
One Greenwood resident recalled a remarkable story about an encounter with Brown.
Skip Shelton, owner of Skip Shelton Art Studio on Montague Avenue, spent many years as a contract pilot, flying for corporations and piloting charter jets for celebrities and public figures.
“One day, many years ago, I was at the airport in Greenville, talking with my friend, another pilot named John Mullins,” Shelton said. “Well, John had done some flying for James on James’ private jet. James had this unbelievable jet. It was painted all black, with a ‘black power’ fist painted on the front. It was something to see.”
Shelton said Mullins said Brown owed Mullins $300. Apparently, Mullins had paid for gas for Brown’s jet out of his own pocket, and the “hardest working man in show business” had yet to pay him.
“Well, a while later I was flying a charter flight into LaGuardia in New York,” Shelton said. “I walked into the airport lounge, and there was a big crowd gathered around laughing and carrying on. There sat James in the middle of it all. After a while, we got to talking and I brought up John Mullins’ name.”
Shelton said Brown inquired about how Mullins had been doing. Shelton told Brown all was well with Mullins, but that Brown still owed him $300. Shelton said Brown smiled and said he would pay the money back eventually.
The next day, Shelton flew back into Greenville. About an hour after he landed, he got a big surprise.
“I looked out on the runway and there sat that black jet with the fist on the front,” Shelton said. “James Brown had flown into Greenville to pay John back that $300. I always had respect for James after he did that.”
It has been an interesting week for Shelton, as two notable figures he came into contact with through his flying days have died. Besides interacting with Brown, Shelton also once flew former President Gerald Ford from Greenville to Atlanta. Ford died late Tuesday night.
Known for his soulful voice, wild dance moves and a dramatic flair on-stage, Brown has been credited for influencing many styles of music, from R&B to rock to hip-hop. Bob Taylor, a professor at Lander University and owner of Taylor Galleries, remembers how innovative Brown seemed when he burst on the scene.
“Oh, he was wild,” Taylor said, with a laugh. “The stuff he and Elvis were doing back then, that was considered dangerous stuff. But, of course, kids went wild for it.”
Tucker acknowledged Brown earned his hard-working moniker.
“Nobody would perform like that, not in the past or now,” Tucker said. “James would have performed every night if he could. I saw him once at the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, before it was torn down. And it didn’t matter if you were young or old, black or white, that was one heck of a show.”

Opinion

History will be positive in judging Gerald Ford

December 28, 2006

It might be a farmer in South Carolina or a president of the United States. It doesn’t really matter what we are or where we’re from, history judges each of us. One thing every person can be sure of, whether we’re sinning or saving in Greenwood or Washington, D. C., history is totally objective.
History will, no doubt, give President Gerald Ford a thumbs up and judge his short tenure in the White House as one of the most significant presidencies of all time. That will happen not for any great “body of work.” No, it will be because of one thing. Ford, who died Tuesday at age 93, had the courage to pardon a disgraced President Richard Nixon who had resigned his office and chose Ford to succeed him.

SOME MAY ARGUE OTHERWISE, but history likely will prove Nixon’s choice of Ford was a positive reflection on Nixon’s troubled presidency.
That pardon, as politically unpopular as it was, probably cost Ford the next election, but it brought a sense of order and civility back to a nation that had been rocked by the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal/fiasco.
The American people took it from there and helped right the Ship of State. The nation’s government could well have continued the downward spiral were it not for Ford’s decision. It was based on doing the right thing, not the most politically expedient, and history has proved, in a relatively short time, it was indeed the right thing.
As a longtime congressman and Speaker of House, Ford knew well the ins and outs of the federal government and how it all worked. One word can define the man: Decency.

WHEN FORD BECAME THE ONLY president and vice president never voted on, some did not consider it a positive, intellectually speaking. Ford, however, graduated first in his class from the Yale University Law School. It takes a few “smarts” to achieve that honor. It also says something about his detractors.
His calm approach to it all was more of a national stabilizer than some thought. He was, without question, a genial man and some mistakenly took that for weakness. Not so. He was indeed a man for all seasons, as history also proves. Above all, though, he was a patriot and a veteran. One thing he said says it all. “I’m fed up,” he said, “with people who downgrade the record of the United States in the last 100 years,” The greatness of this nation is documented by history and, that, can be the ultimate commentary on a great American.

Obituaries

Karen Evans Begley

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. — Mrs. Karen Evans Begley, 54, of 819 Fairway Drive, died Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006 at Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus in Kannapolis following a short illness.
Born Dec. 21, 1952 in Greenwood County, SC, she was a daughter of C.R. Evans and the late Rebecca White Evans. She was employed at NE Medical Center in the Health and Fitness Institute, Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation. Prior to that, she was at the Neonatal ICU Unit at NorthEast Medical Center. Before working at NorthEast, she was at Presbyterian Hospital at the Neonatal ICU. She was a 1973 graduate of Lander University in Greenwood, SC, and worked with Self Memorial Hospital and the Greenwood Dialysis Clinic while in Greenwood. She was a member of First Presbyterian and Westminster Presbyterian of Greenwood, SC.
Survivors include a son, Evan Gerald Begley of the home; a daughter, Karlie Allison Begley of the home; a sister, Clair Murray of Lexington, SC; stepbrothers, Steve, Kevin, Kerry Maher; her father, C.R. Evans of Hanahan, SC; and former husband, Gerald Begley of Rock Hill, SC.
She was preceded in death by a son, Brandon Taylor Begley, who died April 21, 2006, and her stepmother, Lee Evans. Memorial services are 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 30, 2006 at Whitley’s Funeral Home Chapel, Kannapolis, conducted by the Rev. Ken Reed.
Memorials may be made to Hospice and Palliative Care of Cabarrus County, 5003 Boy Scout Camp Road, Kannapolis, NC 28081 or the Neonatal ICU and Health Fitness Institute, Cardiac Pulmonary Rehab, c/o NEMC Foundation, 920 Church St. N., Concord, NC 28025.
Online condolences may be made to www.whitleysfuneralhome.com.

Rena Brunson Burt

SALUDA — Rena Brunson Burt died Dec. 26, 2006, at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
The family is at the home of a daughter Pamela Gilliam, 728 Long Cane Road, Edgefield.
Services will be announced by Butler and Sons Funeral Home.

Laura Cole

WARE SHOALS — Laura Mae Shealy Cole, 92, of 3 Park St., widow of Elbert Lavon Cole, died Dec. 27, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
She was a daughter of the late Rev. Tillman A. and Delle Snelegrove Shealy. She taught music and had played the organ at The Ware Shoals United Methodist Church for 34 years, where she was a member. She was also active in United Methodist Women.
Surviving are one daughter, Von Dale Price and husband Thomas of Ware Shoals; five grandchildren; and eleven great-grandchildren.
She was pre-deceased by a daughter, Jeannine Davis and a brother, Tillman A. Shealy Funeral services will be conducted Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ware Shoals United Methodist Church, with Rev. Fred Treaster, Rev. Gayle Summey and Rev. Stanley Sprouse officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Active pallbearers will be Terry Davis, Tim Shealy, Bob Fogle, Jonathan Davis, Anthony Kidd, Matthew Kidd, Isaac Young and Hunter Kidd.
Memorials may be made to Hospice of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, S.C. The family will be at the home of Von Dale and Thomas Price, 12748 Hwy 25 Business and will receive friends Friday, 7-9 p.m. at Parker-White Funeral Home.

David Knight

David Gordon Knight, 55, of 405 Center Street, died Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of Dorothy “Dot” Coursey Knight and the late Dewey Gordon Knight. He was a graduate of Greenwood High School and was employed by J.C. Penney. He was a member of First Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.
Surviving is his mother of the home; a sister, Sandra Lothridge of Ware Shoals; three brothers and sisters-in-law, Jerry L. and Glenda Knight, Ray and Gloria Knight, Michael and Tonya Knight, all of Greenwood; five nieces, Candy, Hayley, Chelsea, Katrina and Wendy; two nephews, Adam and Jarred; three great-nieces, Meghan, McKenzie and Cailyn; four great-nephews, Chad, Nicholas, Hobie and Holden; and his best friend, Nancy Stamper.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at the Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Richard McWhite officiating. Burial will be in First Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Adam Knight, Jarred Knight, Justin Parker, Coley Newman, Jacob James, Bob Brewington, Robby Timms, Jamie Timms and Jimmy Coursey.
Honorary escort will be associates of J.C. Penney.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. The family is at the home, 405 Center Street.
Memorials may be made to the First Mt. Moriah Baptist Church Cemetery Fund, 2107 Mt. Moriah Road, Greenwood, SC 29646. Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Dorothy ‘Dot’ McDuffie

Dorothy “Dot” McDuffie, 51, of 100 Highlander, Highland Forest Apt. No. A-6, died Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2006 at the home of her sister. Born in McCormick, she was the daughter of Bemore McDuffie and late Tommie J. McDuffie and was a member of Millway Baptist Church. Survivors include her mother of Greenwood; one son, Lance McDuffie of Greenwood; three daughters, Kiana McDuffie and Kontessa Burton, both of Greenwood and Kristy Gilford of Gwinnett, Ga.; five grandchildren and one reared in the home, Nykeria Willis; eight sisters, Ernestine Haley, Carrie ( Ray) Farr, Sally ( Ivary) Goodwin, Eugenia Talbert, Jessena McDuffie, Jackie Johnson, Jeraldine Henderson, and Cynthia Williams, allof Greenwood; five brothers, Lewis, Benjamin, Bobby, Darris, and Dewight McDuffie, all of Greenwood. Funeral services are 2 p.m. Friday, Dec. 29, 2006 at Millway Baptist Church, conducted by Rev. Lonnie Jones and assisted by Rev. Bernard White, Rev. Norris Turner and Bishop Emanuel Spearman. Body will be placed in the church at 1 p.m. for public viewing.
Interment is in The Evening Star Cemetery. The family is at the home of her sister Mrs. Ray (Carrie) Farr, 109 Dorchester St., Pinehurst Sub. In lieu of flowers, make donations to Millway Baptist Church, 1128 Puckett Town Road, Bradley, S.C. 29819. Online condolences can be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com. Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. is assisting the McDuffie family.

Sally Mae Winkfield

Sally Mae Winkfield, 73, widow of Benjamin Winkfield, was called home to be with the Lord on Sunday, Dec. 24, 2006. She was born in Abbeville County, SC, on April 23, 1923, daughter of the late Annie Mae Brown and Ed Dawson.
She retired from Park Seed Company. At an early age, she joined Brownoh AME Church in Calhoun Falls. Later in life she joined Weston Chapel AME Church in Greenwood, SC.
She leaves to cherish her memories five daughters, Toni Lee, Valerie Patterson (Johnny), Verna Winkfield (Toney), Brenda Oliver (George) of Greenwood and Joyce Hill (Gregory), Atlanta, GA; one son, Vernell Lee (Wendy) of Philadelphia, PA; nine grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; one niece; a great-niece; and a host of other relatives and friends to mourn her passing.
She was preceded in death by three brothers, Eddie, Henry and Elijah Dawson.
Funeral services will be held Friday at 11 a.m. from Percival-Tompkins Chapel, with Rev. George Oliver officiating, assisted by Rev. C.O. Barnes. Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens. Pallbearers and flower bearers will be friends of the family.
The family is at the home, 500-C Cokesbury Road.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is assisting the Winkfield family.
pertompfh1@earthlink.net.