Emma’s Law moving toward Haley’s desk
Gov. Nikki Haley will soon see Emma’s Law on her desk, as the state Senate passed the bill unanimously Wednesday.
The bill required alcohol breath testers to be installed in the cars of some first-time drunk driving offenders.
The bill’s main sponsor, state Sen. Joel Lourie, D-Richland, said he was glad to see the measure head for the governor’s signature after a yearlong journey to final passage. Lourie remembered the lives lost in drunken driving accidents, including the bill’s namesake, six-year-old Emma Longstreet, who was killed by a repeat drunken driving offender in 2012.
“I would have rather had her here,” said Karen Longstreet, Emma’s mother. Longstreet sat in the Senate gallery during Wednesday’s vote.
Former jail guard sentenced after beating homeless man
A former Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center guard was sentenced Wednesday to serving two years in federal prison after he beat a homeless man in a cell, The State reported. The guard will also have to pay nearly $30,000 in restitution.
Robin Smith, 37, pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights violation last December after the February 2013 beating of a Columbia man who was mentally ill, nonviolent and handcuffed.
The man almost died as a result of his injuries. Smith will pay $27,803 in restitution to cover the man’s medical expenses.
The victim was identified as 52-year-old Robert Sweeper III in other federal and state filings. Sweeper filed a civil lawsuit against Richland County, which is pending.
“I suspect we will have a trial by the end of the year,” said Sweeper’s attorney, Dick Harpootlian.
Columbia postal worker admits to taking counterfeit bills
A former Columbia postal worker pleaded guilty to taking counterfeit bills from Secret Service agents to spend on various things, including drugs, according to The State.
According to U.S. Attorney Bill Nettles, Richard P. Houghtalen pleaded guilty in federal court to passing or possessing counterfeit obligations of the United States. U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. will sentence Houghtalen.
Houghtalen’s postal worker route included the U.S. Secret Service, according to a press release from Nettles’ office. After Houghtalen stole the Secret Service’s mail, he opened it and took counterfeit money, which he either sold or used to purchase drugs, among other things.
Overall, Houghtalen took more than $10,000 in counterfeit bills and now faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.