Three Matthews lawsuits settled for $110,000

Kershaw County's insurance carrier will pay out $110,000 to settle three of five lawsuits filed against Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews. The settlements come as part of a mediation effort earlier this month.

Dedication of service

5th Judicial Circuit Alcohol Enforcement Team (AET) Coordinator Ashley Bodiford (center) holds an award of recognition the team received July 25. The Lexington-Richland Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council (LRADAC) presented the Kershaw County AET with the award for contributions dedication of service to preventing access to alcohol by people under the age of 21. The AET employs various environmental strategies to prevent underage drinking and the potential consequences that come from such risky behavior. With Bodiford (from left) are Kershaw County Sheriff's Office Capt. Ed Corey, Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews, Camden Police Department (CPD) Chief Joe Floyd and ...

KCSO agents seize meth labs after chase, fight

Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) narcotics agents arrested a Cassatt man following a vehicle chase and fight that led to the discovery of a mobile methamphetamine lab in the man's truck. Agents found additional meth-making materials at the residence the man maintains on U.S. 1 in Cassatt.

Crime Report - Aug. 8, 2012

A Camden man was shot in the leg after he got into a physical altercation with an unknown subject in a gas station parking lot on West DeKalb Street.

Dorton, school trustee, dies in single-vehicle crash

Kershaw County Board of School Trustees member Joseph "Joey" Dorton, 46, died in a single-vehicle car crash early Wednesday morning. Kershaw County Coroner Johnny Fellers said Dorton died at the scene. Fellers said the accident was discovered by a passerby just after 2 a.m. Wednesday. He said the actual accident likely took place sometime during the 1 a.m. hour.

Camden murder suspect arrested after seven years

Seven years ago, the Camden Police Department (CPD) arrested a man they knew as 24-year-old Ashiko B. Smith. CPD investigators placed Smith ended in the Kershaw County Detention Center and charged him with murder for fatally shooting 41-year-old Walter James Johnson in March 2005.

Crime Report - Aug. 1, 2012

A Camden woman allegedly threatened the residents of her St. Matthews Road home, standing on the porch with a long metal pipe.

Crime Report - July 25, 2012

Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) deputies arrested a Camden man on drug and weapon charges after looking for another man wanted on a bench warrant.

Fire Fest is on the way!

The Camden Fire Department's (CFD) 17th annual Fire Fest is set for Sept. 29. The event is held each year on the last Saturday of September to kick off Fire Prevention Week in October. The festival will begin with a 9 a.m. parade of new and antique rescue apparatus through beautiful downtown Camden and end at Rhame City Arena on the corner of Broad and Bull streets where all festivities will take place.

Molestation suspect tried to have victim, mother killed

Brian Robert Sharpe, the 25-year-old Johnsonville man arrested Thursday for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, now faces charges that he tried to have the girl and her mother killed.

Top shot

Drug dealing brothers head to prison

For 20 years, brothers James and Dexter Drakeford sold drugs in Kershaw County. That's over now.

Lee County man charged with molesting sisters

Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) investigators arrested a Lee County man with sexually assaulting three sisters.

Man charged with sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl

Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) investigators arrested a Johnsonville man Thursday, charging him with sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl in Kershaw County. Brian Robert Sharpe, 25, faces one count of criminal sexual conduct toward a minor under 11.

Two men in custody following break-ins

Kershaw County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) investigators arrested two men after determining they were responsible for breaking into several homes and outbuildings near the town of Kershaw. Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews identified the two men as David Patrick Schweikert Jr., 21, and Jeffery Joseph Gray, 22, both living at an address on Old Georgetown Road West.

Prestage Farms owner arrested in Washington, D.C.

Ron Prestage, president of Prestage Farms and a Kershaw County resident, spent most of Wednesday and part of Thursday in a Washington, D.C., jail cell. According to U.S. Capitol Police (USCP), Prestage, 59, was arrested around 9:20 a.m. Wednesday after officers discovered he was carrying a loaded handgun and a magazine with ammunition in a briefcase while trying to enter the Cannon House Office Building.

Crime Report - July 23, 2014

A Camden Police Department (CPD) officer answered a call to KershawHealth on Saturday in response to a patient with a bullet wound.

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