SCRUGGS SENTENCED TO LIFE

April 27, 2010
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(Anderson, SC). Following separate evaluations by both the State and the Defense, the Honorable Cordell Maddox accepted the plea of Guilty but Mentally Ill of William Bradley Scruggs today in Anderson General Sessions Court to multiple charges surrounding the death of Ronnie McCullough in August of 2009. The Honorable Cordell Maddox sentenced Scruggs to life for Murder, life for Burglary 1st Degree, 30 years for Kidnapping, and 5 years for Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime. 

On August 5, 2009, the defendant broke into Ronnie McCullough’s home while he was gone. When McCullough returned, Scruggs held him at gunpoint for several hours before killing him and taking items from the home. Scruggs left in McCullough’s car which he later attempted to return to the wrong house. The victim’s body was found by family members on August 9th. The defendant stated to law enforcement that he had been hearing voices at the time of the murder. Scruggs was diagnosed as having paranoid schizophrenia and a personality disorder by forensic psychiatrists for both the state and the defense.