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B1 VOL. 118, NO. 150 WWW.THEITEM.COM
SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2013
FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
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Retrial of Tuomey lawsuit begins Tuesday BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com After several delays, hundreds of pre-trial motions and changes in legal representation, lawyers for Tuomey Healthcare System and the federal government will begin their arguments in court Tuesday in a highstakes, high-profile lawsuit
directly impacting health care in the Sumter area. The retrial of Drakeford v. Tuomey Healthcare System Inc. is scheduled for Tuesday before U.S. District Court Judge Margaret B. Seymour at the Matthew J. Perry Federal Courthouse in Columbia. A 12-person jury, selected earlier this month, will be officially
ON THE NET Read the timeline detailing the initiation and development of the federal government’s case against Tuomey online. www.theitem.com
sworn in for the trial scheduled to last three weeks. Originally filed Oct. 4,
2005, the multi-million-dollar case revolves around whether the local hospital violated the Stark Law and the False Claims Act. In its attempts to recover from the hospital what it says was nearly $45 million in improperly received Medicare claims, the federal SEE TUOMEY, PAGE A9
Locals storm Festival on the Avenue Bitten officer could return by Monday Policeman thankful for thoughts, prayers after March dog attack
Leads still coming in 2-year-old murder case
BY RANDY BURNS Special to The Item
BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Despite recently passing the two-year anniversary of his killing, law enforcement officers insist the killing of Darrell Epps is not a cold case. “We’re still getting leads,” said Capt. Allen Dailey, criminal investigations commander at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. “We just got another one this week. We’re real close.” But several EPPS factors complicate the case. Officers know little about the 26-year-old’s movements after he left his home in the Shiloh/Lynchburg area about 6:30 p.m. April 9, 2011, and when his body was discovered the next day in a mobile home park off Broad Street Extension near Sumter. Several “persons of interest” have been identified in the case, leaving law enforcement to figure out how they fit together. And useful tips have been mixed with rumors that haven’t led anywhere. But as Epps’ family and friends gathered Wednesday to mark the two-year anniversary of his death at the
The Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School drumline performs at the Festival on the Avenue’s opening ceremony on Saturday at the Manning Avenue Free Arts Studio.
Annual event offers array of sounds, sights, bites BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Manning Avenue was clogged with a different kind of traffic on Saturday. Pedestrians milled up and down the roadway after it was closed to make room for the annual Festival on the Avenue. Different activities, performers and food vendors filled the area in the afternoon, following the floats and marching bands from the morning parade. SEE FESTIVAL, PAGE A6
ABOVE: Houdini releases colored ribbons to represent the different kinds of cancer after escaping a straitjacket while being hung 70 feet in the air. LEFT: James Levine prepares a plate of chitterlings over rice at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church during the festival’s A Taste of Soul event on Friday.
PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / SPECIAL TO THE ITEM
BISHOPVILLE — A local law enforcement officer seriously injured by a dog on March 19 plans to return to work as soon as Monday. Master Patrolman Josh Kelly, a two-year veteran of the Bishopville Police Department, was attacked by a large dog while he was on a routine foot patrol on North Main Street near Academy Road. “It was serious in that it struck an arKELLY tery,” he said. “That’s why I had to be airlifted to Columbia. It was life threatening, but once it was stabilized, everything was fine.” The dog left a deep bite in Kelly’s upper thigh, but the officer used his military training to stop the bleeding himself, according to Bishopville Police Chief Sonny Ledda. “He’s a combat veteran of the Army,” Ledda said. “He was able to get away from the dog and stabilize the injury.” Kelly said the dog attacked him when he was walking back to his patrol car and that he then drove the 17 miles to the Carolina Pines Regional Medical Center in Hartsville while keeping pressure on the wound. From there, he was taken by helicopter to a Columbia hospital. After two days in Palmetto Health Richland, Kelly returned to his home in Hartsville. “The recovery has been quick,” he said. “I’m really doing well. It took a big chunk out of
SEE EPPS, PAGE A5
SEE OFFICER, PAGE A9
20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)
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