10th Circuit Solicitor

Walhalla, SC – The Honorable Scott Sprouse sentenced Bobby Joe Shead of Seneca to 15 years with no parole after a guilty plea to Distribution of Methamphetamine, 2^nd Offense. The State was represented by Deputy Solicitor Lindsey Simmons.

Shead was arrested during a roundup of drug offenders in an effort to curb the methamphetamine epidemic in Oconee County.  The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, using a confidential informant, initiated a controlled narcotics purchase from Shead in November of 2017. Lab tests confirmed the substance which was sold by Shead to be methamphetamine.

“Bobby Joe Shead’s sentence is a warning to meth dealers in Oconee County. You will be caught and prosecuted. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office does a great job of identifying the dealers and gathering the evidence necessary to convict them. We will continue to prosecute these dealers to get them off the streets of Oconee County,” stated Solicitor David Wagner.

Oconee, S.C. –  Yesterday, in Oconee General Sessions Court before the Honorable Judge Scott Sprouse, defendant Chevis Morris pled guilty to Voluntary Manslaughter, Armed Robbery and Burglary 1st degree.  He received a negotiated sentence of 30 years in jail. 

On July 30, 2016, the victim, Jennifer Poore, was shot in her home in Anderson.  Mr. Morris had gone to that location with two other females, to visit.  The shooting was witnessed by one of the women and the other saw the defendant running from the house with a gun in his hand.  When arrested and questioned by the police, the defendant said that he noticed the victim had a large roll of cash in her pocketbook.  The defendant said he intended to strike the victim in the head with his gun and steal her cash, but the gun went off when he hit her.  The defendant fled the scene and later broke into a residence and stole a car.  He was arrested the next day at his mother’s house.

“I hope that this lengthy sentence brings some peace to the family of Ms. Poore, who lost their loved one in a senseless act of violence stemming from greed,” said Solicitor David Wagner following the imposition of the sentence by the Court. 

(Anderson, SC). Late in the afternoon yesterday, following a three day trial, the Honorable Lawton McIntosh sentenced Mary Nimmons Patrick to 25 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections and a $100,000.00 fine, after a jury convicted her for Trafficking Methamphetamine between 200 and 400 grams.   Assistant Solicitor Chelsey Moore appeared on behalf of the State, and the defendant was represented by attorney William Yarborough.

 After several months of surveillance, Detectives with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Division executed a search warrant at a home on Willingham Road in Belton. Inside the home, Detectives found the defendant, Mary Nimmons Patrick, and approximately a half pound of methamphetamine. Patrick admitted to Detectives that she divided the methamphetamine into smaller portions to sell.

Solicitor Wagner commented following the verdict:   “Ms. Patrick had two prior methamphetamine convictions on her criminal record. The Anderson County Sheriff’s Office has been working hard to stop drug offenders at high levels, particularly drug traffickers. The way they methodically worked the case against Ms. Patrick helped secure this conviction, and has stopped a large source of methamphetamine that was distributed in Anderson County.”

(Anderson, SC). Today, Judge Lawton McIntosh sentenced Demetrius Gambrell on charges of Attempted Murder and Armed Robbery to seventeen years in jail, to be served concurrently on both charges. He will get credit for 370 days he has already served. Representing the State was Senior Assistant Solicitor Kristin Reeves and Bill Hinnant represented Mr. Gambrell. 

On January 18, 2017 the victim, who was friends with Gambrell, was with the defendant on Leon Drive in Anderson County when the defendant opened fire and shot him five times before leaving him in a ditch by the side of the road and taking the victim’s vehicle. The vehicle was discovered outside of Gambrell’s house, where it had been set on fire, and the victim’s wallet was later recovered from the defendant’s residence. 

Then, on January 31, 2017 the defendant entered the Stop-a-Minute on the 28 Bypass in Anderson County, asked the store clerk for cigarettes before pointing a gun at the clerk and demanding money, threatening to shoot the clerk if he refused. He then left in a red car wearing a camo jacket and baseball hat. The incident was recorded on video. 

Gambrell was arrested on February 2, 2017 in Louisiana in the red car wearing the same clothing he wore when he committed the armed robbery. Officers in Louisiana recovered a .380 and ballistics testing matched the bullets recovered from the victim in the attempted murder. 

Following the sentencing Solicitor David R. Wagner said that “violent acts such as these will not be tolerated in our jurisdiction. If you leave the State, we will bring you back, and bring you to justice.”

Walhalla, SC—An Oconee County jury convicted R. L. Webb of Murder and Burglary 1^st degree today in General Sessions Court.  The Honorable R. Lawton McIntosh sentenced Webb to 45 years on each charge to be served concurrently.  The State was represented by Assistant Solicitor Blair Stoudemire, who was assisted by Assistant Solicitor Brian Livingston. 

On September 1, 2016, Webb went to the residence of 50 year old Steven Gregory Brock at 208 Brock Road in Westminster. Webb and Brock had a verbal dispute earlier in the day at Webb’s residence.  When Webb arrived at Brock’s residence, he found the gate to the property was locked.  He unsuccessfully attempted to gain entry by shooting the lock several times. After gaining entry to the property via an alternate route, Webb approached Brock’s home and made forced entry. 

Webb found Brock in a bedroom in the home, along with a female acquaintance. Upon entering the bedroom, Webb fired a handgun at Brock, fatally striking him in the head.  The female acquaintance was able to flee the residence in Webb’s car, as Webb continued to fire at her.  A short time later, she approached a City of Walhalla police officer for assistance.  The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office also received two 911 calls around this time. The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Brock Road location where they located Brock’s body and processed the crime scene.  The murder weapon was later located on the premises by a law enforcement K9 officer. 

After the shooting, Webb hid in the woods nearby the home and later fled the State. He was located the next day in Lavonia, Georgia and was apprehended by authorities there. 

At trial, The State presented video and written evidence of Webb’s confession, eyewitness testimony, law enforcement witnesses, medical experts, and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division experts in the fields of firearms/ballistics, DNA, and gunshot residue analysis.  

Solicitor David Wagner stated after the trial, “The death of Steven Gregory Brock was a senseless and merciless tragedy. R. L. Webb killed Mr. Brock in the sanctity of his own home, the place where we should all feel most safe.  Today’s sentence ensures that our society will be protected from R. L. Webb for the rest of his life.  I would like to thank our law enforcement partners at the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, Walhalla Police Department, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for their outstanding work in pursuit of justice.”

Anderson, SC – Late Thursday afternoon an Anderson County jury convicted Raeford Wideman of Murder, and he was sentenced to 30 years in jail by Judge Lawton McIntosh. The case was tried by Assistant Solicitor Stan Overby for the State. 

At trial it was established that during the early morning hours of March 15, 2015, Wideman shot the victim, Ryan Oneill Tatum, multiple times while Tatum was in a vehicle outside of Mr. Wideman’s residence. Mr. Tatum had been dating Mr. Wideman’s sister at the time of the shooting, and was returning from Greenville with her and her cousin when the Defendant came out of the house armed. An investigation by the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office determined that multiple shots had been fired at Mr. Tatum while the firearm was placed inside the vehicle he was driving. The investigation proved that Mr. Wideman had every intention of killing Mr. Tatum, though Wideman initially maintained he had fired accidentally. 

Following the verdict Solicitor David R. Wagner said “Thanks to the investigation by Detective Nathan Mitchell and the rest of the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office, Mr. Wideman’s story was disproved and there can be justice for Mr. Tatum and his family today.”

On the evening of March 28, 2016, Jason Franklin Carver and his co-defendant Woodrow Curry went to 108 Sterling Bridge Road in Powdersville to collect drugs or money from Steven Cameron. Carver drove a white Buick Regal to the victim’s home with Curry in the passenger’s seat. When they arrived, the men went on to the porch and an altercation ensued. During that altercation, Curry pulled a .25 caliber gun and shot Steven Cameron twice in the chest. He died almost instantly of those injuries. Carver and Curry were each charged with Murder. Woodrow Curry pled to Voluntary Manslaughter and received a deferred sentence on Tuesday. A jury found Jason Carver guilty of Murder this afternoon. Judge Lawton McIntosh sentenced him to 30 years.