The Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) reported the following recent incidents:
A deputy responded to a Watson Street, Elgin-area home on April 4 for an active break-in. When they arrived, they found a man — determined to be the victim — in the front yard with a pistol in his hand and a flashlight. The man told the deputy that he had heard a loud banging noise from the front door and then movement in the living room area. He said when he walked out of the bedroom, three male suspects ran out of the residence. He said he chased them outside, couldn’t find them, but then heard them back inside the house in his bedroom. The man said he went back inside, and the suspects ran back out the front door. At that point, he said, he grabbed his firearm and went back outside, but couldn’t find the suspects. The man reported nothing missing, but did say it appear that they removed a case of beer from his refrigerator and dropped it in his living room. He told the deputy that one of the suspects was a Black male, approximately 5 feet 10 inches tall and heavy set. He said the other two were both white, approximately the same height as the first suspect, but each with a medium build. The deputy reported their appeared to be scratch marks under the door knob of the victim’s front door.
KCSO investigators and firefighters are investigating a case of arson involving a camper trailer and 4-wheeler on Robinson Town Road in the Cassatt area on the night of April 5. An arriving deputy found the trailer and 4-wheeler engulfed in flames with firefighters working the scene. One of two women at the home said she was awakened by a cell phone notification from trail camera, and then the other woman declared that there was a fire in the back yard. The two women went outside and found the trailer and 4-wheeler on fire. One of the women tried to put out the fire, but then called 911. They showed the deputy the trail camera picture, which showed a male subject from the back, running down the driveway. One of the women also reported that earlier that week, her truck broke down while she was on her way to work, and a repair shop told her they had found contaminants in her gas tank. Firefighters informed the deputy it appeared the fire started at a crawl space door located outside the actual residence. No arrests had been made as of April 9.
Deputies responded to a towing company on Lachicotte Road in Lugoff on April 3 for a fight in progress. When they arrived there, a man came limping toward them, yelling, and bleeding from the shin. He claimed that his former employer struck him with a bat. One of the deputies spoke with the employer who said the man showed up demanding money he thought was owed to him. The owner said he told the man he did not owe him anything, and that is when the man became irate, got in his face, and then punched him in the face. That is when, the owner said, he retrieved a baseball bat to defend himself and began striking the other man, who he claimed kept coming at him. Deputies took pictures of the first man’s injuries before he was transported to a Richland County hospital for treatment. No charges had been filed as of April 9.
A male suspect reportedly broke into several vehicles in a U.S. 1 North east Camden towing yard on March 31. Someone called dispatchers and said when they went to the lot, they saw a white male, around 5 feet 5 inches tall wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans standing in the yard. The caller said they yelled at the man to stop, but the suspect fled through a hole in the fence. The caller said the man ran down a neighboring side street, so responding deputies looked through that area, but did not find the suspect. One of the deputies went to the lot and reported finding a red Honda Odyssey with its passenger side window broken, and a white Jaguar sedan, white Chrysler Crossfire, silver/gray Subaru Legacy, and gold Mercedes Benz, all with their driver’s side windows broken.
Deputies arrested a man on an outstanding bench warrant on April 4 after he allegedly presented and pointed a gun at another man during a confrontation on Spring Creek Road in Lugoff. That was the first of reportedly two instances of the arrestee and a woman going to the Spring Creek Road residence where the woman’s ex-boyfriend lives. They had left the scene the first time, and deputies told the victim to call back if they returned. He did so during the early morning hours and when deputies arrived, they found the wanted man behind some tarps. The arrestee initially claimed that the gun he had presented was a “toy,” but did not have it with him when arrested. As of April 9, the man had not been charged with any crime connected to the incident in Lugoff.
The KCSO is investigating a possible drive-by shooting that took place on April 5 at a Blaney Road, Elgin residence. According to the people living there, one of them had just come inside when they heard a “pop” at the front door. Although deputies did not find any shell casings out in the roadway or near the front of the house, they did find where the bullet had traveled through the bottom of a glass storm door and was lodged in the front door immediately behind it.
A woman reported that for the third time in just a few months, her storage unit on U.S. 521 South was broken into sometime during a three-week period leading up to April 1. She reported that approximately $1,000 worth of items was missing, including her son’s shoes and desktop computer. It appeared that someone knew the combination to the lock for the unit because it was not tampered with, which is what she said happened the first two times.
Deputies and firefighters responded to Love’s Travel Center on White Pond Road in Elgin on April 2 to a call of an 18-wheeler truck cab on fire in the rear parking area. When firefighters ran the truck’s license tag, it came back stolen out of Richland County. An incident report indicated this may have been a case of arson, but that firefighters did not advise a responding deputy as to the source of the fire.
On April 2, deputies arrested a 57-year-old Cassatt man on two outstanding larceny charges. When they did so, they found him possession of approximately 24.4 grams of meth. As of April 9, the man was being held without bond at the Kershaw County Detention Center on meth trafficking and the larceny charges, which stem from cases that took place earlier this year.
Deputies are investigating a claim that a man assaulted his pregnant girlfriend on April 2 by strangulation. Dispatchers received a call from another person who said they were on a FaceTime with the woman when she was attacked, purportedly due to the man — who had left the scene before deputies arrived — believing she had a dating app on her phone.
A woman claimed she was assaulted by two people on April 2 at a Pine Grove Road, Lugoff location. She said the altercation began with one person who was then joined by their sibling. A deputy reported the woman had suffered multiple bruises up and down both arms as well as on her neck, and a knot on the back of the head.
A couple living on Huckleberry Road in the Cassatt area reported on April 2 that someone fired a shot through their home, breaking at least one angel statue in their laundry room. Deputies located a projectile that appeared to be similar to a 5.56 or .223 caliber round.
Contractors at homes being constructed on Harvest Moon Drive in the Elgin area reported on April 1 that someone stole eight drop cords from the exterior of one residence, and two faucets and pipes from sinks at another.
Someone stole a sky blue 9mm handgun and mint green .22 caliber rifle from a Camden-area residence on Ellene Street on April 1.
County deputies also dealt with incidents involving assault and battery, burglary, civil disturbance/issue, domestic violence, DUI, emotionally disturbed person, financial identity fraud, larceny, malicious injury to property, meth possession, no driver’s license, operating an unsafe vehicle, public disorderly conduct, stalking, suicide, theft of a controlled substance, trespassing, and unlawful use of telephone.
(KCSO reports are provided under the S.C. Freedom of Information Act. Subjects are considered innocent until proven guilty.)
