IN SPORTS: East Clarendon softball knocks off Thomas Sumter Academy B1 CLARENDON SUN
THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015
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Manning woman donates store proceeds to brain cancer research A8
Defendant claims ‘stand your ground’ defense as hearing opens BY MATT BRUCE matthew@theitem.com A heated argument concerning lease agreements at a Dalzell rental property two years ago led to a shooting that left one man dead. Now lawyers for the admitted shooter are asking a Circuit Court judge to dismiss criminal charges, claiming that the “stand your ground” law protects the defendant from prosecution. James Brock, a 19-year-old Manning
man, faces charges of voluntary manslaughter and use of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime in connection with the fatal shooting, which unfolded March 10, 2013, outside his family’s mobile home. Jeffrey Allen Scott, 37, sustained a gunshot wound to the abdomen during the ordeal and died at the scene. Brock contends he was trying to protect his mother from the victim, who was wielding a fully loaded shotgun, when he fired the fateful shot.
His testimony came during the first day of a special hearing inside Sumter County Judicial Center. Attorneys for Brock argued that the defendant was not trying to start a fight when he sent a close friend to Scott’s home to demand the victim apologize for making disparaging comments about Brock’s mother minutes before the shooting. Prosecutors insist that the defendant was still angry about the previous altercation when the fatal incident
sparked and maintain that he was not acting in self-defense. South Carolina law stipulates a person who uses deadly force that is permitted by provisions in the code of laws is immune from criminal prosecution and civil action. Among those legal provisions is the “castle doctrine,” which allows residents to protect their homes and property from intruders. The immunity does not apply
SEE HEARING, PAGE A3
Measure restricts legal remedies
Puppets on the brain
McElveen concerned bill could limit recourse on Pinewood dump BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com
deciding whether to extend S.C. State’s loan repayment plan. A $6 million loan approved last spring is supposed to be paid back by June 30. But if it is repaid, the school won’t be able to pay any of its vendors, and unpaid bills will climb to $22 million, McNeish said.
State Sen. Thomas McElveen, D-Sumter, said Wednesday he is concerned that bills under consideration by South Carolina General Assembly that restrict legal remedies available to victims of unpermitted pollution may affect residents affected by a toxic waste dump near Pinewood. “The bill was put up for special order (Tuesday),” he said. “It would basically eliminate a cause of action under the Pollution Control Act, and it’s a bill that gives me some pause because of what is going on at Pinewood.” McElveen has been very active and vocal in raising concerns about the Pinewood dump only yards from the shores of Lake Marion. The site is maintained by a trustee for South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. “A lot of people in Sumter County are very concerned about the situation in Pinewood, and if something were to happen, I certainly wouldn’t want to limit any of the private causes for action people may have,” McElveen said. Conservation Voters of South Carolina Executive Director Ann Timberlake said her organization refers to the bill as the “polluter amnesty act.” “We oppose this bill,” she said. “It would restrict the right of citizens and communities to protect themselves from past, unpermitted pollution. That is a pretty important nuance, ‘past and unpermitted.’” Timberlake said the bill was amended in 2012 to allay concerns by farmers they might be sued and by development proponents that an overly broad interpretation of the cause of action might scare away companies interested in opening facilities
SEE AUDIT, PAGE A5
SEE SENATE, PAGE A5
Sandra Edens, above, and the Brain Minder Buddies sing a safety song at the end of their show at Oakland Primary School on Tuesday. Kindergartners, right, listen to the Brain Minder Buddies puppet show. The club brought the show to Oakland Primary and F.J. DeLaine Elementary School. PHOTOS BY KEITH GEDAMKE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Audit shows S.C. State will owe $23.5M BY SEANNA ADCOX The Associated Press COLUMBIA — South Carolina State University’s escalating debt is expected to reach $23.5 million by the end of this school year, adding to calls for an immediate overhaul. An accounting firm pre-
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hired his firm last year. Gov. Nikki Haley said the school’s survival depends on leadership being willing to make deep cuts. “South Carolina State is on life support,” she said. “Something has to be done now. We’ve got to see action yesterday.” The financial oversight board she chairs postponed
sented a financial forecast Wednesday that’s even worse than lawmakers expected. South Carolina’s only public historically black university cannot reduce its unpaid bills without additional aid from the state, Tom McNeish of auditing firm Elliott Davis Decosimo told the Budget and Control Board, which
DEATHS, B5
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WEATHER, A12
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