Area News

By JOYCE GRAHAM tribjoyce@tabor-loris.com      A downtown landmark for decades, host to hundreds of lights during the holiday season, the Loris Christmas tree is coming down.      It’s a matter of safety, a letter from R.J. Corman Railroad Group that landed on the desk of City Administrator Damon Kempski last month said.      Sprawling over the tracks and…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine purchased during a two-month investigation that centered on the Cedar Branch Community has resulted the arrests of three Loris men and seizures of drugs, guns and money, the Horry County Police Department reported Tuesday.      Those arrested Monday and the charges they face are: Robert Earl Jackson,…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Another break-in on Dothan Road Tuesday ended with two Loris men in custody, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michelle Tatum said.      Arrested following a vehicle stop on nearby Horace McKee were Montel Lasual Hyppolite, 18, of Walnut Street in Loris and Shaquan Taereek Hemingway, 19, of Paddock Road, Loris.      Both were…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Surveillance images have been obtained of a suspect in last week’s shooting of a Tabor City area man after he interrupted a break-in at his home      “We need the public’s help in identifying this guy,” Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michelle Tatum said Monday.      Detectives believe the man approached the Dothan…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A Tabor City area man apparently interrupting a break-in at his home was shot Friday afternoon.      Montgomery Lowery, 31, was shot in the right arm during the confrontation at about 2:45 p.m. on Dothan Road, Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Michelle Tatum said in a news release. He was taken to…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A man on a small tractor and mower was injured when an SUV drove into the back of the equipment on Complex Street Friday afternoon.      Good Samaritan’s who came upon the crash scene pulled the John Deere equipment off of the man, and provided shade from the afternoon sun as emergency…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A young East Columbus High School student has been charged with possession of a weapon on mass destruction on educational property after a “homemade incendiary device” and a “large steak knife” were found on the Lake Waccamaw campus Thursday.      Detectives believe the 14 year-old female student intended to harm two fellow…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      Suspects in the weekend murder of Ricky Long in his Tabor City home are in custody in Oklahoma, the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office announced Wednesday.      William Matthew Fortney, 39, of Coweta, Oklahoma and Amber Nicole Hitchcock, 32, of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, were taken into custody Wednesday by the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com      A federal indictment has been returned against Brandon Michael Council in last month’s bank robbery and double murder in Conway, U.S. Attorney Beth Drake said Wednesday.      A Federal Grand Jury sitting in Columbia returned the three-count indictment Wednesday, charging Council with armed bank robbery resulting in death, us of a firearm…

By DEUCE NIVEN tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com Tuesday Update      Gunshots killed a local man whose body was found inside his Tabor City area home following a Saturday night disturbance, Capt. Jason Soles of the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.      Ricky Long was pronounced dead in the home on PD Ranch Drive, a narrow dirt lane off of…