Woman convicted of shooting related crimes
A woman from Florence was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Tuesday after admitting to shooting at her former boyfriend during a car chase that resulted in a fatal wreck, The State reported.
Georgia Woodberry, 30, ended the trial early and pleaded guilty to murder, two counts of attempted murder, stalking and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
The car Woodberry shot at in April ran a red light and ran into 36 year old Lori Pruett’s car. The nurse was on her way to work and died a little later, authorities said.
Woodberry, who was angry at her ex-boyfriend, shot at him while a woman drove him to work, prosecutors said.
The woman tried to flee Woodberry’s attack and was shot through both legs and Woodberry’s ex-boyfriend’s arm was nearly torn off in the wreck.
— Priyanka Juneja, News Editor
SC GOP under fire for “Obama’s Gestapo” email
A South Carolina Republican Party email drew criticism for calling the Internal Revenue Service “Obama’s Gestapo” Tuesday, The State reported.
The email was referring to a revelation earlier in the year that the IRS had targeted Tea Party organizations for extra scrutiny when filing for tax exemptions. It was later revealed that they targeted liberal groups as well.
The email asked for donations to the party in order to help “expose and abolish” the IRS.
The reference to Nazi Germany was the second by South Carolina’s two major political parties; former South Carolina Democratic Party Chairman Dick Harpootlian compared Gov. Nikki Haley to Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler’s mistress and wife, last year. Former S.C. GOP Executive Director Matt Moore called the statement “despicable.” Moore, now the party’s chairman, signed the Tuesday email and did not respond to The State’s request for comment.
— Amanda Coyne, Editor-in-Chief
City residents oppose downtown halfway house
Twenty-seven plaintiffs have filed a lawsuit challenging the placement of a halfway house in downtown Columbia near the upcoming Bull Street development project, The State reported.
Among those objecting are prominent doctors, lawyers and neighborhood groups. The house, which would house felons convicted of non-violent crimes, would be at 1315 Calhoun Street, an area with a mix of professional buildings and private residences. The site is less than two blocks away from the development project, which will add residences and commercial real estate onto the site of a former state mental hospital.
Dick Harpootlian, one of the plaintiffs and a prominent South Carolina trial lawyer, said that while the city needs a halfway house, the placement of one near the Bull Street site would deter investors from a potentially lucrative development.
The Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals approved the halfway house in late June with a 3-2 vote.
— Amanda Coyne, Editor-in-Chief