Former SCSU police chief lies about wild night
Former South Carolina State University police chief Michael Bartley was told by former SCSU board chairman Jonathan Pinson to lie about Mayor Steve Benjamin’s whereabouts during a trip to Florida back in 2011, WIS reported.
Bartley testified Tuesday that a trip he, Pinson and Benjamin took a private plan to Florida, and described the evening that included dinner at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and a visit to a local strip club. Bartley testified that the three men took some of the entertainers home, and that one or both of the women ended up in Benjamin’s room. Developer Richard Zahn also testified Tuesday confirming most of what Bartley testified earlier that day. Zahn said that he flew the men down in a private jet and paid $8,000 for the evening in Orlando.
Childress’ shooter sentenced to 10 years
Michael Juan Smith, the man charged with the shooting of Martha Childress in Five Points last year, was sentenced to ten years in prison on a federal weapons charge Friday.
Smith pled guilty to the charge in February. The judge gave Smith to the maximum legal sentence, saying that he displayed “an extreme lack of remorse.”
Smith still faces state charges related to the shooting, including charges of attempted murder, assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
According to police reports, Smith fired his gun at two men with whom he was arguing on Harden Street in October. A bullet struck 18-year-old Childress, damaging several of her internal organs and severing her spinal cord. The wound paralyzed Childress from the waist down.
Childress went through physical therapy at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, learning to live in a wheelchair. She took classes from her home in upstate South Carolina during the spring semester and will return to USC Columbia in the fall.
— Kelley Kennedy, News Editor
Lexington sheriff indicted for corruption
Lexington County Sheriff James Metts was indicted Wednesday on bribery charges, WIS reported.
According to federal prosecutors, Metts will be charged with accepting bribes from Greg Leon, the 47-year-old owner of some San Jose Mexican restaurants.
The indictment accuses Metts of taking the money in return for helping four illegal immigrants who worked for Leon and were arrested get out of county jail. Prosecutors also reported that Metts attempted to prevent the undocumented workers from being reported to the U.S. Immigration and Customs agency.
Metts is the eighth South Carolina sheriff to face criminal investigation in the past four years. He is a University of South Carolina alum and the longest-serving sheriff in South Carolina, having held office since 1972. He received several awards during his career.