Informant says deputies beat him

SLED investigating sheriff’s office after man says he was assaulted during drug sting

October 6, 2006

By RICHARD WHITING
Executive news editor

SLED is investigating the Greenwood County Sheriff”s Office after a drug informant working for the Greenwood Police Department said deputies beat him up.
The informant, whose identity is being withheld, told The Index-Journal that deputies shoved a shotgun in his face, knocked out teeth and kicked him in the back.
All this, he said, took place about 9 p.m. last Wednesday in the old Lowe’s parking lot on the 72 Bypass.
Greenwood Police Chief Gerald Brooks said his officers arranged a cocaine buy from an alleged drug dealer, using the informant to help with the deal.
The Greenwood Sheriff’s Office was investigating the same person, but neither law agency knew the other was involved.
The old Lowe’s building is within the city limits. The sheriff’s office said it does trade information with other narcotics units from other agencies, but “close holds” information otherwise. Asked why the sheriff’s office did not let the police department know they were conducting an operation in the city, Brooks said, “That’s a good question. I wish they would have.”
The informant was working with undercover officers at the scene. When he delivered the drugs, he said, he was assaulted by deputies who had intervened to break up the drug deal.
When the informant left the company of the undercover city officers he was with, he was fine, Brooks said. “Two minutes later, he was injured.”
At the informant’s request, Brooks wrote a letter to State Law Enforcement Division requesting it investigate the man’s injuries. He sent SLED the letter via fax last Thursday.
The police chief said the man was injured within city limits, but since his department was involved in the incident it would not be appropriate for the police department to investigate the case.
In his letter to SLED, Brooks said his officers did not know the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office had arrested the drug dealer earlier that same day and had taken possession of his cell phone.
“When the informant’s ‘go-between’ called the drug dealer’s cell phone, a law enforcement officer working for or with the sheriff’s office answered the phone and posed as a drug dealer and agreed to deliver cocaine,” Brooks wrote.
A reverse sting was initiated by the sheriff’s office, according to Brooks, and it is when deputies moved in for the “take-down” that the informant was injured.
According to information received by The Index-Journal, the informant had at one time worked for the sheriff’s office in the same capacity. The informant has claimed that deputies knew who he was, but he was beaten anyway.
He was treated at Self Regional Healthcare’s emergency department that night. The next day is when he sought Brooks’ help in launching an investigation.
A SLED spokeswoman confirmed that its office is investigating the matter. She referred to it as an “open case” as of 5 p.m. Thursday.
In a press release issued Thursday night, Sheriff Dan Wideman said his office and SLED are investigating the complaint against one or more of his deputies involved in last week’s incident.
“My internal investigation is complete as of yesterday (Wednesday),” Wideman said, “and all of the deputies involved were cleared of any wrongdoing. SLED received the complaint and will complete their own investigation; to comment further on what is an ongoing investigation would be inappropriate. The instant SLED completes their work, I’ll release all of the information we have.”

Man faces charges of killing common-law spouse

October 6, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

A Greenwood man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of his common-law spouse.
Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office charged Willie David Whatley, 38, of 202 Butler Court, with the crime after a five-day investigation that began when deputies responded to Whatley’s residence on the afternoon of Sept. 30. Whatley had called authorities to report that his common law spouse, Patricia Cantrell, 28, had stopped breathing.
At that time, Whatley told deputies the couple had been drinking the night before and he though that Cantrell was merely hung over. The two had been living together for more than a year.
Investigators were able to piece together the couple’s activities from the previous night through numerous interviews, and they determined Whatley and Cantrell had been involved in a physical altercation that resulted in the head trauma that killed the woman.
When confronted with the newly discovered evidence just before taking a polygraph examination, Whatley confessed to striking Cantrell repeatedly during a fight.
Whatley was arrested and taken to the Greenwood County Detention Center, where he was denied bond and awaits trial.
The arrest comes just two days after a Tennessee man shot and killed his estranged wife in a domestic murder-suicide that occurred near Callison in southern Greenwood County.
On Tuesday, deputies responded to 3431 Callison Highway after a relative of Peggy A. Lail, 45, phoned police to voice concern for the woman.
After they were unable to get a response from someone inside the home, deputies forced their way into the house, where they found Timothy P. Lail, 48, Peggy Lail’s estranged husband, dead at the scene. Peggy Lail died after being transported to Self Regional Medical Center.
Greenwood County Coroner said both Lails suffered gunshot wounds to the head. Authorities said they thought the incident was triggered by Timothy Lail’s anger that his estranged wife had begun a relationship with another man.
Also on Tuesday, deputies discovered the bodies of Jimmy McWhorter, 67, and his wife Janet, 69, in the bedroom of their home on Roberts Drive in the Hyde Park community. Though authorities think Jimmy McWhorter shot his wife before shooting himself, Chief Deputy Mike Frederick said earlier that the McWhorter case was different from the Lail case in that it had different motivations.
“I’m really at a loss for words,” Greenwood County Sheriff Dan Wideman said in a press release. “I am sure that this has been the worst week for this type of case in the history of this county. I guess I can only say that all of these families are in our prayers.”
Wideman also described the workload on his investigative staff as “unbelievable.”
“Some of these guys have worked 36-hour shifts this week,” Wideman added. “These cases are always emotionally tough to work, so you can imagine what working three in a week must be like.”
Domestic violence claimed the lives of 36 women statewide in 2003, according to the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, and the crime is the leading cause of injuries to women aged 15-44, even more common than traffic accidents, muggings and cancer combined. Nationwide, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends in the U.S. each day.
The Associated Press reported that South Carolina ranks sixth in the nation in the rate of women murdered by male intimate partners, and within the past month there have been a number of domestic violence-related homicides in the state.
Greenwood County ranked seventh in the state in 2003 in the number of reported domestic violence assaults, with one domestic assault for every 60-91 people, according to SCCADVASA’s Web site.
This year alone, there have been multiple domestic violence-related fatalities in Greenwood County.
In March, 34-year-old McQuonia Lawton was killed when her estranged husband, James, drove his vehicle through Lawton’s Raintree Apartments residence before chasing the mother of two through the neighborhood and eventually shooting her a total of 11 times. James, 30, fled the scene in another vehicle, driving to his Georgetown Apartments residence in Greenwood, where he shot himself in the head.
And in March of 2005, Augstine Omogun, 41, shot and killed his wife, 41-year-old Denise, in the couple’s Avondale home before traveling to Uptown Greenwood where he reportedly shot another man and then turned the gun on himself.

Strength in numbers

Annual church gathering combines fellowship with discussions on community issues

October 6, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

ABBEVILLE — The calendar said it was Thursday, but at St. James AME Church, it looked and felt more like Sunday.
The pews of the church were packed with regional church members and leaders as part of the 96th session of the Piedmont Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s Seventh Episcopal District.
The annual weeklong conference, which will conclude today, features worship and communion services, reports from district churches, health and education seminars and church assignments for the following year. Organizers expected to see up to 4,000 people throughout the week at the event, which featured Bishop Preston W. Williams II, president of the global AME Council of Bishops.
The Piedmont Conference contains nearly 25,000 AME members and is composed of churches in two districts: the Abbeville/Greenwood District, which also includes McCormick County, and the Greenville District, which also includes Laurens and Anderson counties.
The Rev. Oscar Klugh, presiding elder with the Abbeville/Greenwood District, said the conference kicked off with pre-event activities over the weekend, including a youth summit attended by more than 400 teenagers and children.
The first few days of the conference are used to gather information from the district, including numerical and financial statistics as well as how the church is meeting the needs of its congregation and community.
Pastor Beatrice Coleman, with Jacob Chapel AME Church in Abbeville, said that type of information is important for district church congregation members to hear.
“We need to be informed about all aspects of life,” she said. “It’s important for the Christian community to be involved with all aspects of the lives of people.”
On Thursday, the conference turned toward community outreach, Klugh added, with seminars on health-related matters and Christian education “and other things that affect the personal lives of the congregation.”
Thursday’s conference agenda included an update on Allen University from Dr. Charles Young, president of the Columbia school.
Allen University is one of the first black colleges started in South Carolina, said the Rev. Jonathan Baker, presiding elder for the Greenville District, adding that the AME Church puts a “strong emphasis on education.”
Klugh said education is one of the key issues on the minds of AME church leaders, adding that the connection between crime and a high drop-out rate is worrisome for many.
“One of the main issues that demands a lot of attention of the church is education, especially in South Carolina. We are concerned about the life and health of public education,” Klugh said. “We are concerned there is more emphasis on building prisons than there is on promoting education. We feel that if we had more emphasis on education, there would not be as much need for prisons.”
Another issue, Klugh said, was the rising unemployment rate that has accompanied plant closings, particularly in Abbeville County.
“We are concerned with the transitions people will have to make from one type of employment to another. We are concerned about the impact this will have on the citizenry in general and we are concerned as to what is being done in order to bring in new industry and new types of employment,” he said.
Baker said that the church also supports members taking an active role in government, from registering to vote to running for a political office. He said the church has always been one in favor of equality and love of every person.
“The AME Church has always had this policy that we could never discriminate against others and we could never take a position of hate, even against the oppressors,” Baker said. “We still believe strongly that all of us are the children of one God and that Christ redeems us and that all persons in the world are brothers and sisters.”
That mentality, he said, makes the AME Church one that welcomes everyone and builds the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood among members.
“We believe that, whenever the Holy Spirit comes in, the church automatically becomes the psychological cot for the persons who are there. Instead of lying on a cot at the psychiatrist’s office, we come to church and that is how we deal with our emotions, our frustrations, our hurts and our pains,” Baker said. “Lives are transformed and it’s a strong fellowship.”
Pastor George Oliver, with Zion Chapel in McCormick County, said the annual conference showcases that fellowship among thousands of members in the area.
“I find the conference to be very energetic under the leadership of our bishop and presiding elders,” Oliver said. “It equips me with the things that I need to pastor my church and to go out and serve the community.”
And serving the community, Klugh said, is an important part of the AME Church. During the conference, which changes location each year, conference members do work with community outreach ministries at various places, including nursing homes and even prisons.
“They will go and find out what it is that the church can do to help them,” Klugh said, adding that monetary donations are collected for the organizations. “We feel that the church, if we are going to be a church, should be involved in every facet of the lives of individuals, regardless of where they might find themselves. We feel that the church should be a part of their lives and should serve their needs.”
Baker said the outreach for the community fits in with the mood of the conference and the doctrine of the AME Church.
“You will be amazed that, in spite of all the pain and hurt that they are bringing to the conference, (the attendees) come with a lot of hope and a lot of faith that it is going to get better,” Baker said. “They have a tremendous love for God, a tremendous love for the church and a tremendous love for each other.”

James Carroll Boozer

James Carroll Boozer, 72, of 1213 Central Avenue, husband of Jeanette Luchey Boozer, died Wednesday, October 4, 2006 at the Hospice House of the Piedmont. Born in Greenwood to the late Emcee Boozer and the late Lula Solomon Boozer, he was a member of Weston Chapel A.M.E. Church. He was an insurance agent and was in the U.S. Navy.
Survivors include his wife of the home; one son, Reginald Boozer and one stepson, Willie Alfred Blair, both of Atlanta, Ga.; three daughters, Mrs. Socrates (Sandra) Boozer-Greene of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., Mrs. Andre (Kim) Williams of Columbia and Audrey Boozer of Atlanta, Ga.; one sister, Joan Fulton of Kirkland, Wash.; eight grandchildren, one granddaughter, Bethany Boozer, of the home; two great-grandchildren. Services are Saturday, October 7, 2006 at Weston Chapel A.M.E. Church at 2 p.m., conducted by Rev. Willie Neal Norman Jr. Body in the church at 1 p.m. Burial is in Oakbrook Memorial Park. The family is at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary, Inc. is assisting the Boozer family.

Shaquine Bridges

McCORMICK — Shaquine T. Bridges, 33, of 203 Gilchrist Heights, died Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center in Greenwood.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home.

James Lee Emily

James Lee Emily of 113 Lovely Lane, Wesley Commons, died Wednesday, October 4, 2006. He was the husband of Elizabeth Peele Emily of the home.
Son of the late Birdie Jane Jenkins and Robert Lee Emily of Henderson, KY, he was born April 12, 1913 and attended Asbury College and the University of Kentucky.
Mr. Emily retired from Square D Co., for whom he had established a plastics molding department at the Asheville, NC plant. He had been recruited from General Time Corp., Athens, GA, where he was plastics molding engineer.
Surviving in addition to his wife are three sons by a previous marriage, Michael L. Emily of Ponte Vedra, FL, and Robert A. and James R. Emily of Greenwood. One son, Raymond Lee Emily, is deceased.
Also surviving are six grandsons, Bruce, Robert L., James Lee, Jonathan S. and Andrew C. Emily of Greenwood, and Michael Lee Emily of Woodland Park, CO; five granddaughters, Michele Hendrick of Ninety Six, Lana Brown and Natalie Tallent of Greenwood, Kelley Stewart of Spruce Pine, NC and Leanna Emily of Ponte Vedra, FL; 11 great grandchildren and three great great grandchildren.
Also surviving are one brother, Elmo E. Emily of Woodstock, GA, and nine sisters, Ida Kazakas of East Cleveland, OH, Lorene Hust, Dorothy Echols, Laverne Thomason and Ruth Wallen of Henderson, KY, Virginia Culver of Mesa, AZ, Audie Blackaby of Xenia, OH, Valetta Raines of Nashville, TN, and Vivian Patterson of Orange Park, FL. Two brothers, R.L. and Robert Emily and one sister, Agnes Williams, predeceased him.
A memorial service will be at held at 2 p.m. on Monday, October 16 in Asbury Hall at Wesley Commons.
Harley Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of arrangements.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com.

Rudy Ferguson

Rudy Wayne Ferguson, 43, of 1018 Siloam Church Road, died Thursday, Oct. 5, 2006, at his home.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services.

Geneva Howard

UNION — Geneva Fay Howard, 79, widow of Ralph Howard, died Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2006.
Holcombe Funeral Home is in charge.
Announcement courtesy of Blyth Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Jim and Janet McWhorter

Jimmy Leroy “Jim” McWhorter, 67 and Janet Turner McWhorter, 69, residents of 301 Roberts Drive, died October 1, 2006 at their home.
Jim was born August 7, 1939 in Piedmont, SC, he was a son of the late Leroy and Alma Ellison McWhorter. He was a graduate of Belton High School and Anderson Technical College. He was the owner of McWhorter Services and the former owner of Sight for Defender, Inc. He was currently employed by The Goodrich Corp. Mr. McWhorter coached youth football in Belton and Greenwood for over 18 years. He was a member of West Side Baptist Church.
Janet was born June 1, 1937 in Honesdale, PA, she was a daughter of the late John William and Amelia Kime Turner. She was a graduate of Damascus High School, Damascus, PA and the Carbondale School of Cosmetology. She was the owner and operator of Janet’s New Image Hair Salon. Mrs. McWhorter was a member of West Side Baptist Church, she served on the SC Board of Cosmetology and she bred and showed world champion Pomeranians.
Surviving are two sons, Jimmy Randall “Randy” McWhorter and wife, Amy of Charlotte, NC and Stephen Erhardt of Hollywood, CA; a daughter, Kathy “Chopper” Riggsbee of Cincinnati, OH; a brother, Stephen “Steve” McWhorter of Honea Path; a sister, Linda Gail Coker of Liberty; grandchildren, Kayla and Katie McWhorter, both of Charlotte and Kalynn Ruth Engel and Amanda Riggsbee, both of Cincinnati, OH.
Funeral services will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. Saturday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel.
Mr. McWhorter’s burial will be in Oakbrook Memorial Park. Mrs. McWhorter’s burial will be in Hilldale Cemetery in Damascus, PA.
Pallbearers will be Jake Meeks, Melvin Ivester, Jack Lawson, Marcus McWhorter, Mike McWhorter, Paul Coker, Greg Steifle, Allen Bolton, Ned Hitesman, Phil Church, Tracy Locke, Dr. Asa Hatfield, Ray Medlock, Ken Phillips, Jamie Riggsbee, Dr. Edward Petit, Dorton Shirley and Nate Engel.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 7 to 9 Friday evening.
Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society, 231 Hampton Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the McWhorter family.

Several Ninety Six runners dismissed

Athletic director, coach say team members ‘not running’ after practice incident

October 6, 2006

By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal sports writer

NINETY SIX — The Ninety Six High School boys cross country team’s march to the Class AA state championship meet has hit a snag. The Wildcats have been enjoying a stellar season, losing only one meet all season up to this point.
However, several key members of the team have been dismissed following an incident at a recent practice.
Ninety Six Athletic Director Chuck Burton confirmed the dismissal.
“There are members of the varsity boys cross country team who are not running,” Burton said. “There has been a decision made about these members, and it will be discussed at the school board meeting.”
The school board meeting Burton referred to will be Tuesday at Ninety Six Primary School.
According to a number of phone calls, e-mails and faxes sent to The Index-Journal, the cross country team members in question were recently participating in a “recovery day” practice.
A recovery day practice usually entails a 90-minute free run the day after a meet.
According to the sources, the team members ran through town and stopped at the Piggly Wiggly, where they purchased and consumed sodas.
They also briefly stopped at a local church to rest for a few moments.
The runners were dismissed when Burton learned of their actions.
Ninety Six cross country coach Sandi Zehr also confirmed the dismissals.
“Yes, the majority of the team is currently not running,” Zehr said. “That’s all I can really say until the school board meeting. It has been a difficult time for this team.”
Zehr and Burton declined to release the players’ names and said more would be released at the school board meeting.
The Wildcats’ track team finished 10th out of 24 teams at last season’s Class A/AA State Championship Meet.
Several runners, including standouts Michael Rounds and Alex Trowbridge, had returned to the team this year.

Chris Trainor covers area sports for The Index-Journal. He can be reached at: ctrainor@indexjournal.com.

Scandal can be confusing for the ‘average’ voter

October 6, 2006

As comedian Rodney Dangerfield might have said, voters don’t get no respect!
Take the average South Carolinian who tries to do his civic duty and keep up with the public’s business ..... his business. He does reasonably well keeping informed on issues, whether they are local, state or national, with a little international interest thrown in for good measure. Through it all, to be sure, partisan politics plays an integral role in how the average voter sees his world. Still, at least for the average voter, there are often considerations other than one-sided politics, whether Democrat or Republican, Independent or Libertarian.

THERE’S AN OLD SAYING, though, that is often used in jest, but can just as surely be descriptive of reality when partisan politics is concerned. It’s simply that “One monkey don’t stop no show!”
That’s pretty much self-explanatory. It fits the situation surrounding the hullabaloo over disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley, Florida Republican.
Foley, as everyone should know by now, resigned his office after it was disclosed he had sent sexually explicit e-mail messages to a former congressional page.
What does that have to do with voters in South Carolina ..... or anywhere else? It’s simple, not to mention inevitable when the Foley story broke. Democrats jumped on it like a duck on a june bug. While Foley has been censured, as he should have been, in this election season the target for the Democrats is not just Foley. It is the entire Republican Party.

IMAGINE WHAT THAT MUST do to the mind of the poor voter. Imagine how confused he or she must be. If the whole Republican Party is to be blamed for the despicable acts of one of its members, will they have to go back in their minds and blame the entire Democratic Party for Teddy Kennedy at Chappaquiddick, Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, and then Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., who had an affair with a male page?
That street, of course, runs both ways. But don’t expect Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and others to agree. They’re throwing stones at all Republicans. And, as Ben Franklin said, “Don’t throw stones at your neighbors,’ if your own windows are glass.” Certainly there’s enough glass for all, no matter if it’s a Republican or Democrat that commits the transgression du jour.