Campus flasher arrested by Columbia Police
A West Columbia man was arrested Friday for having exposed himself to two women at the corner of Greene and Pickens streets, The State reported.
Lloyd Benjamin Hicks, 44, exposed himself to two women on the USC campus at around 2 p.m. Tuesday, while they were walking at the intersection of the two streets. The man drove by in a pickup truck and exposed his genitalia to them before leaving the area. The women immediately left the scene and called police.
Investigators were able to identify the man Friday after reviewing surveillance tapes of the area, according to a press release from Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook.
The intersection of Greene and Pickens streets is near the center of USC’s campus, near Russell House and Womens Quad.
—Davis Klabo, Assistant News Editor
Marvel to honor deceased boy with comic appearance
Marvel announced Friday that it will memoriale a Midlands child who was hit and killed by a falling tree branch in June, WIS-TV reported.
Jacoby Latta, 3, was killed at an Irmo park when a branch fell from a tree and struck him in the head. Latta’s family asked funeral attendees to wear Marvel Avengers-themed clothing and costumes and to symbolize the boy’s love for comic books, according to WACH.
The boy’s father, Stuart Latta, asked an artist he knew from church whether he had any contacts in the comic-book industry to help realize his son’s dream of becoming a super hero, according to WLTX.
The man, Sanford Greene, was an artist for Marvel Entertainment, owner of the Avengers franchise. Greene was able to secure a memorial page for Latta in the comic Uncanny Avengers No. 23, which will be in Columbia area stores on Wednesday.
—Davis Klabo, Assistant News Editor
Columbia Police Drug Lab shuts down amid investigation
Columbia Police shut down the department’s drug lab Friday after an internal investigation found one of two lab analysts was not properly trained for her position, The State reported.
Brenda Frazier was previously employed as a drug analyst for the City of Columbia but has officially been relieved of her duties, according to Police Chief Skip Holbrook. Frazier’s lack of training and adherence to proper protocol was exposed by a department-wide quality assessment that Holbrook initiated upon assuming his post.
Until the drug lab can reopen, cases will be referred to the State Law Enforcement Division for examination, Holbrook said.
According to 5th Circuit Solicitor Dan Johnson, Frazier’s incorrect analysis may have contributed to the wrongful imprisonment of some defendants, though he did not believe that many cases had been seriously compromised.
— Davis Klabo, Assistant News Editor