Individual cigarrette sales could be banned
The sale of individual cigarettes, also known as “loosies,” may be banned in Columbia, The State reported.
Councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who chairs City Council’s public safety committee, requested a ban on single cigarette sales. Maj. Melron Kelly of the Columbia Police Department told the newspaper that those sales cause issues like loitering and access to tobacco by minors.
The sale of individual cigarettes is illegal under federal law, and stores that sell individual cigarettes are shirking federal taxes on cigarette sales, according to Jeanne Brooker, a city staff attorney.
South Carolina does not have any cities or counties that prohibit single cigarette sales, but there are laws against it in other states that have held up in court challenges. A local ordinance would let city police cite store owners who sell individual cigarettes. Currently, only federal law enforcement can do so.
The issue will come before the full City Council once Brooker has a drafted proposal.
Teen charged in shooting to be tried as adult
The 16-year-old man accused of shooting a 14-year-old girl in north Columbia will be tried as an adult, The State reported.
Raekwon C. Ford is charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Additional information led investigators to believe the Sunday night shooting was intentional, police said. Police Sgt. William Pegram earlier in the week called Ford a “known gang member.”
The shooter is suspected of acting recklessly by brandishing a handgun and pointing it at the victim before the shooting.
The 14-year-old was shot in the chest and is receiving treatment at a local hospital. Ford is being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
The shooting occurred in Latimer Manor, a public housing complex on Lorick Avenue, but neither the suspect nor the victim live there.
Man accused of robbing dead man’s house
Police say a Charlotte man stole items from a home in north Charlotte while the homeowner laid dead inside the house, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Pressley Davis Jr., 20, is charged with burglary, larceny after breaking and entering, larceny of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon and six counts of larceny of a firearm. Bail was set at $445,000.
Police say Davis targeted the home because of its too-full mailbox and the garbage can left at the curb.
Police said the victim died of natural causes before the home was robbed.
A 911 caller alerted police of several men leaving the home in the homeowner’s car around 11:30 p.m. Saturday.
Davis and another person were in the car, authorities say. Police determined the other person had not committed a crime.
Police think several others are involved in the robbery of the house and encourage anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 704-334-1600.