Man gets 5 years football game death
Curtis Simms was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter Tuesday. He was found guilty of breach of peace of a high and aggravated manner following the death of a USC fan after a 2010 football game, The State reported.
The 27-year-old will spend five years in prison after being convicted of breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature.
That charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, but Richland County Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein also required Simms to attend substance abuse and anger management counseling.
The sentencing concludes a six-day trial, which began Jan. 29.
The victim, 20-year-old Adam Martin Gasque, was run over by a friend’s truck after Simms punched him and knocked him into Shop Road after USC’s historic win over then–No. 1 Alabama in October 2010.
Former USC football players Mike Davis, Marque Hall and Dustin and Jordin Lindsey — all of whom graduated in 2008 — testified for the defense. The men are friends with Simms, an Alabama fan, and were with him during the altercation.
— Sydney Patterson, Managing Editor
Greenville boy killed in accidental gun incident
A 3-year-old boy was killed in Greenville Friday night while playing with a pink gun he and his sister thought was a toy, WYFF reports.
Temorej Smith and his sister were playing with the weapon in a bedroom while their grandparents were in the living room. Police have not said who caused the weapon to fire.
Deputy Coroner Jeff Fowler ruled the death accidental Tuesday and said the toddler died in the apartment where the gun went off.
Police and local activist Jack Logan, founder of Put Down the Guns Young People, have both made gun locks available free of charge to Greenville residents to prevent similar accidents.
—Amanda Coyne, Assistant News Editor
SC among worst in nation for voting issues
South Carolina is among the states most riddled with elections problems in the U.S., according to a report released by the Pew Charitable Trust.
The state ranked No. 45 in the country, including Washington, D.C., according to data from 2008.
Average wait times for South Carolina voters came out to more than an hour, putting the state dead last for wait times. The shortest average wait time was two-and-a-half minutes in Vermont. For the past presidential election, Richland County voters reported waits lasting up to six hours, a result of understaffed polls without enough voting machines.
South Carolina also ranked 43rd for disability- or illness-related voting problems. There were problems with 7.5 percent of voter registrations and absentee ballots in 2008 as well.
Voter turnout for South Carolina was in the bottom 10 nationally, and voter registration came in at 39.
—Amanda Coyne, Assistant News Editor