'My worst fear'

KFC employees were forced by two bandits
to lie on the floor as restaurant was robbed

July 8, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER and JOANIE BAKER
Index-Journal staff writers

Business was back to normal Friday afternoon at the KFC on the S.C. 72 Bypass following a Thursday night robbery at the restaurant.

Law enforcement authorities are still searching for two men involved in an armed robbery that occurred late Thursday night at a KFC restaurant on the S.C. 72 Bypass in Greenwood.
Maj. Lonnie Smith, with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, said the men are described as black, about 5 feet, 11 inches to 6 feet tall, with slender builds. One man was dressed in red clothing, and the other wore blue clothing.
Both men were armed with handguns and were wearing masks, Smith said, and the men entered and exited the restaurant through a rear door.
“Right now we have investigators interviewing witnesses and talking to different store owners to see if they saw anything,” Smith said.
A deputy on the scene Thursday said employees were forced to lie on the floor during the robbery, which occurred shortly after the store closed at 10 p.m.
No customers were in the store during the incident, and no injuries were reported.
Employee Freddie Abney said the suspects met employees at the back door as they were about to take out the trash, adding that there were about nine employees in the restaurant at the time of the robbery. He said the men never fired shots during the incident.
Abney said he had just come out of the bathroom of the restaurant when a man, described as being in his late teens, pointed a gun at him and stuttered “this is a robbery.”
“We almost thought it was a joke at first. The way he stuttered, he didn’t look serious,” Abney, 20, said.
As Abney fell to the floor by the restaurant’s office, the red-masked man “mushed” Abney’s head to the side with his gun and called out to a man in a black mask. “Should I blow this (expletive’s’) head open?”
“I was like, if he says yeah, this guy doesn’t have slip-resistant shoes on, and I’m gonna hit his legs out or something,” Abney said.
Much to the employee’s relief, the men went into the office, stepping on him each time they came in and out of the office.
“This is my worst fear. It’s why I came to KFC,” Abney said. “I thought nobody would rob a KFC ... I kept thinking, ‘Oh, my God’ in my head. The only thing I could do was pray and pray and pray.
“This is the biggest fear of my life and it’s happening,” he said.
A cell phone call from an employee, 16-year-old Craig Patterson, alerted law enforcement of the situation. Patterson had been de-boning chicken when he heard someone scream, “This is a robbery.”
After realizing the side door of the restaurant was locked, Patterson said he hid in a booth to call for help.
“They didn’t even know I was still in the store,” said Patterson, who said he only briefly saw one of the suspects. “They kept yelling ‘Who has a cell phone? Who has a cell phone?’ I put the phone back down and whispered, ‘We’re getting robbed, the KFC on (the bypass)...’ I kept thinking, ‘Please don’t let me hear a gunshot.’”
Patterson said he called at 10:09 p.m., and officials arrived at the scene by 10:15.
“I feel kind of stupid because, what if he had come back in the lobby?” Patterson said. “But I feel like I saved somebody’s life because they didn’t leave until the first police car pulled in.”
Authorities with the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, Greenwood Police Department and South Carolina Highway Patrol arrived at the scene, and a bloodhound tracking team was called in to search the area for the men. Birchtree Drive was closed off during the search.
Witnesses said the men left toward the Days Inn location, and a suspicious vehicle was seen in the area. The store owner and manager waited outside of the restaurant while authorities conducted an investigation. When they were allowed back inside, they estimated that between $3,000 and $5,000 was stolen, Abney said.
Employees and their family members waited in the parking lots at Captain D’s and Shoney’s restaurants nearby. Patterson’s mother, Wendy, was among those watching as authorities worked the scene, and she said she was not sure she wanted her son to return to his job on Friday.
“I hear he was the hero, and I’m proud of that, but, as a parent, you still don’t want to think of what could have happened,” she said at the scene.
A manager at Dairy Queen, next to KFC, said law enforcement had warned businesses along the bypass that back-door robberies had occurred near Anderson and that employees should be sure their back doors were locked and secure.

Opinion

‘Bud’ Pendergrass helped many boys get head start

July 8, 2006

You can go home again. A Greenwood native proved it. After retiring from the U. S. Air Force in 1974, he came back home and went into the clothing business on the Uptown Square.
Lt. Col. George Edward “Bud” Pendergrass, who died Thursday at the age of 74, could have made his retirement home anywhere. So many military retirees settle down after their service in communities near military installations. That gives them better and closer access to benefits like medical care and shopping at post facilities.
Although Bud Pendergrass put in his time in the Air Force, he did not retire from life when home and another “career” beckoned.

HE WAS MUCH MORE THAN a businessman, too. His participation in civic and church activities left no doubt of that. His interest in and service to the Boy Scout movement particularly were more than noteworthy, both as a Scout and in a number of leadership capacities. He was an Eagle Scout and the recipient of the Silver Beaver Award, a meritorious honor that defined his service to the organization and his community and state.
Because of Bud Pendergrass,, many boys got a head start on preparing for the kind of citizenship encouraged and instilled by the Boy Scouts of America But, then, that was indicative of a quality that defined his character: He cared ..... and showed it. That was obvious in a life well spent, one that made his and our world a better place.

Obituaries

Robert D. Hemphill

ORANGEBURG — Robert Davis Hemphill, 83, of 2779 Hillcrest S.E., husband of Rees Dickson Hemphill, died Friday, July 7, 2006 at his home.
Born in Greenwood, he was a son of the late James Calvin and Milwee Davis Hemphill. He retired from Greenwood Mills, received a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and completed post graduate work at Biarritz University in France. A World War II Army veteran, he was a member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a daughter, Mrs. Paul (Janie) Dempsey of Asheville, N.C.; two sons, Robert Davis Hemphill Jr. of Richardson, Texas and Andrew Dickson Hemphill of Hot Springs, Ark.; two grandchildren; two brothers, James C. Hemphill Jr. of Charlotte, N.C., and George Foster Hemphill of Orangeburg.
Services are 3 p.m. Sunday at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, conducted by the Rev. Ben Herlong. Visitation is 7-9 tonight at Dukes-Harley Funeral Home.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 1356 Amelia St., Orangeburg, SC 29115 or a charity of one’s choice.
Dukes-Harley Funeral Home is in charge.

Olivia D. McCasson

GALLION, Ala. — Services for Olivia D. McCasson, of 106 Peppermint Drive, are 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Old Field Bethel AME Church, Greenwood, S.C., conducted by the Rev. Jackie Whitted. The body will be placed in the church at 1:30. Burial is in the church cemetery.
Pallbearers are nephews and friends.
Flower bearers are nieces and friends.
The family is at the home of a brother James Daniel, 1303 Florida Ave. Extension, Greenwood.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc., Greenwood, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at robson@nctv.com

Correction

For the obituary of Bud Pendergrass in Friday’s paper, there was an error in the information given to The Index-Journal. The address for memorials to American Legion Post 20 is 806 Calhoun Ave., Greenwood, SC 29649.