Year in Review: Crime
April 20
Fatal crash into County Courthouse
A pick up truck hit the Darlington County Courthouse at the Public Square in Darlington early in the morning on April 18, killing the driver. The City of Darlington police department was the first on the scene before 4 a.m., finding the vehicle in flames.
On the scene at 5:45 a.m., the scene was grim.
Pat Cavanaugh, City of Darlington Fire Chief:
“The call came out about 3:45 a.m. Our crews got here and they found the vehicle up under the building fully engulfed in flames. We went to put it out and the city police noticed there was a body inside. At that point the coroner was called (J. Todd Hardee, County Coroner) and they called the county admins since it was county property to take over. We had smoke inside the second and third stories of the courthouse, so we had to ventilate everything inside and it got up in the ceiling tiles. At this point, everything is under control and we are waiting on SLED who has control of the scene now.”
By the end of the day on Monday, Coroner Hardee said that the confirmed name would not be released until an autopsy was performed.
It looked like the vehicle was coming from Pearl Street when it made impact on the corner of the courthouse facing Carolina Drug Store.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and the Darlington County Coroner’s Office are the lead agencies investigating this incident.
May 25
$500,000 settlement reached in Darlington wrongful death case
Two Darlington County law enforcement officers, Robert McIntyre and John Specht, named in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the estate of Ernest Russell of Darlington, settled claims against them last week in the amount of $500,000. Russell died after being shot during the execution of a no-knock warrant led by the Darlington County Drug Enforcement Unit to search for illegal gambling on October 21, 2011 at a building at 1312 S. Main Street in Darlington, according to documents on record with the U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina Florence Division.
The lawsuit was filed by Ernestine Wingate as personal representative of the Estate of Ernest Russell against the following defendants:
Wayne Byrd, both individually and in his official capacity as the Sheriff of Darlington County; Darlington County Sheriff’s Office; Darlington County; The City of Darlington Police Department; The City of Darlington; Ben Weatherford; Robert McIntyre; Clyde M. Shepherd; John Specht; Judith Kate Green, and John Does 1 – 10.
According to documents, all defendants have been released from the lawsuit and/or settled with the exception of Darlington County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Ben Weatherford, Darlington County, and Darlington County Sheriff Wayne Byrd.
According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) investigative report by Special Agent Glenn McLellan on November 15, 2011, Sgt. Ben Weatherford was interviewed five days after the incident in the presence of his attorney, Paul Cannarella. In the SLED report, Weatherford provided a voluntary typed statement.
July 20
Two arrested for double homicide: grandmother and child found dead
Darlington County Sheriff J. Wayne Byrd shared details about a double homicide that occurred on Sunday July 17th, just before noon.
According to Byrd, Darlington County Sheriff Offfice deputies responded to 2129 East Bobo Newsom Highway.
Two deceased victims were located inside the residence, including the homeowner.
According to Darlington County Coroner J. Todd Hardee, the two victims were identified as Deziyah Davis, age 9, and her grandmother Denise Couplin, age 52.
Two suspects have been arrested in connection with this incident:
Cephas Manuel Cowick, age 23, and Katherine Baucom Cowick, age 25 have been charged with murder and are in custody at the Darlington County Detention Center.
