The 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, in partnership with Brookland Baptist Church and several legal organizations, will host a Record Expungement Fair on Monday, January 19, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The free Day of Service event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at BrooklandContinue Reading
Mark A. Scheibler, age 50, has been sentenced to Life in prison following his conviction in Lexington County for Murder and Possession of a Weapon during commission of a Violent Crime. Judge Walton J. McLeod, IV imposed the sentence following a trial last week in Lexington County General Sessions Court.Continue Reading
Vernon Jenkins, 42, Altariq Cole, 39, and Dyshawn Hines, 42 — all from New Jersey — were all convicted last week by a Lexington County jury and sentenced to 30 years in prison for their roles in a shooting that took place at the Country Inn & Suites on PineyContinue Reading
Robert Allen Gaffney, a 38-year-old man from Lexington County, has been convicted of Attempted Murder following a plea entered March 13. The Honorable Walton J. McLeod IV sentenced Gaffney to 25 years in prison. Under South Carolina law, the Attempted Murder charge is classified as a violent crime and isContinue Reading
Amari Smith, age 24, of Columbia, has received a sentence of 30 years for his role in the April 16, 2022 Columbiana Mall mass shooting. Smith pled guilty November 1, 2024, following the trial of State v. Jewayne Price in Lexington County. Price was convicted by a jury in OctoberContinue Reading
Kenneth Archie, 44, of Columbia, was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana. Evidence presented to the court showed on June 14, 2021, the Richland CountyContinue Reading
Dwight Anthony Powell, 42, of Saluda, has been convicted in Lexington County General Sessions Court after a trial. Powell was found guilty by a Lexington County jury of Burglary – Second Degree (violent) and Attempted Grand Larceny, with a value exceeding $10,000. Circuit Court Judge Walton J. McLeod IV sentencedContinue Reading
In a recent court decision, 22-year-old Daniel Taylor Jones of Lexington County has been convicted and sentenced to forty (40) years without parole for the murder of Barry Joe Chavis, Jr., on March 27, 2020, at 3630 Fish Hatchery Road in the Gaston area of Lexington County. The verdict wasContinue Reading
Kaleb Thomas Besancon, aged 19, of Lexington, recently pleaded guilty on January 24, 2024, to serious charges in Lexington County. This includes one count of Armed Robbery and one count of Burglary Second Degree Violent stemming from separate incidents. Circuit Court Judge William P. Keesley oversaw the guilty plea andContinue Reading
Brandan Lamont Richardson, a 35-year-old validated gang member, faced the verdict of a Lexington County jury on Thursday, January 11, 2024. The jury convicted Richardson on charges of Trafficking Methamphetamine over 100 grams, Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, and Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine. Presiding over theContinue Reading
Lavon Bernard Julius, age 43, originally from Columbia, was convicted Wednesday afternoon by a Lexington County jury, after approximately thirty minutes of deliberations, for the Murder of Zeloni Ellison, age 15. The trial began on Monday, December 11, 2023, with jury selection. The Honorable Walton J. McLeod, IV, presided overContinue Reading