Area News
Human trafficking, sex and drug crimes alleged
By DEUCE NIVEN Human trafficking, sex and drug related charges against a Whiteville area man have followed a three-month Columbus County Sheriff’s Office investigation, an agency news release said Tuesday. Larry Daniel Moore, 55, of 46 Stanley Circle, was arrested Monday, charged with two counts of aiding and abetting prostitution; single counts of…
Read MoreThird man charged in Loris story robbery/murder
By DEUCE NIVEN A third man is facing accessory charges in the deadly armed robbery at a Loris convenience store Monday, the Horry County Police Department has announced. Demetrius Altman, 37, of Godwin Trail, Chadbourn, was arrested by members of the U.S. Marshall’s Task Force during a traffic stop in Chadbourn Tuesday morning,…
Read MoreColumbus County men charged in Loris robbery, murder
By DEUCE NIVEN Murder warrants charging two Columbus County men with the robbery and murder of a popular Loris area convenience store owner were served Tuesday. Jim Tracy Miller, 26, of Tabor City and Jonathan Stefan Vanderhorst, 21, of Whiteville were caught after law enforcement officers flooded the area surrounding Loris Market &…
Read MoreUPDATE: Two in custody in store robbery/murder
Afternoon final Monday update Two men are in custody in connection to Monday morning’s robbery/murder at the Loris Market & Beverage, Lt. Raul Denis of the Horry County Police Department said. A rapid response by law enforcement led to the arrests, Denis said in a news release. “The store’s surveillance system captured…
Read MoreUPDATE: Piru Mob gang members take pleas
By DEUCE NIVEN Thursday update WHITEVILLE—What promised to be a long-term investigation into a gang run narcotics investigation with tentacles leading to New Jersey was cut short by the potential for deadly consequences in December 2014, two sheriff’s and a federal prosecutor told reporters here Thursday. One of three men who were targeted…
Read MoreTeen, found shot, dies at CRH
By DEUCE NIVEN A Chadbourn teen found shot early Tuesday died later at Columbus Regional Healthcare in Whiteville, Columbus County Assistant Coroner William Hannah said. Jacob Baldwin, 19, of Lewis Street, had been through surgery and admitted to the hospital after he was found on Jackson Street “somewhere around 3 or 4 this…
Read MorePost Office at Clarendon robbed at gunpoint
By DEUCE NIVEN Armed robbery of a U.S. Postal Service office in Clarendon left a clerk shaken, two men getting away with an undisclosed amount of money and a bank check, a Columbus County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman said Tuesday. Postmaster Harriett Epps said the clerk, alone in the small rural office, was not…
Read MoreSeven arrested in Loris drug operation
Story & Photo By JOYCE GRAHAM Seven arrests and seizures of guns and drugs followed a coordinated law enforcement raid targeting Maple Street in Loris Thursday, Police Chief Karen Shepherd said Friday. Blocking both ends of the street, offices from numerous agencies made arrests and executed three search warrants as a helicopter monitored…
Read MoreAnimal shelter break-in nets computer, TV, cash
By DEUCE NIVEN Damage from a break-in at the Columbus County Animal Shelter may be as costly as what was discovered stolen Thursday morning, Shelter Director Joey Prince said. “They took a laptop computer, which is bad because we do a lot of our work on it, a TV, and took about $80…
Read MoreArson, attempted murder charged
By DEUCE NIVEN An apparently long-simmering dispute ignited with an intentionally set fire east of town early Thursday, a neighbor charged with arson and four counts of attempted murder. Telesha Breoni Bellamy, 21, of the 5000 block of Swamp Fox Hwy East, was arrested just hours after the 6:25 a.m. fire was extinguished…
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