Teen in state custody after assaulting grandfather with machete
By HEATHER RUPPE
A 13-year-old who assaulted his grandfather and an officer is in custody at the state’s Department of Juvenile Justice. The attack against a Colleton County resident occurred on Oct. 22nd. According to a Colleton County Sheriff’s Office incident report, deputies were called to the house when 911-calls said a 13-year-old juvenile was assaulting his grandfather with a machete. The young teen was also threatening to burn down the victim’s house, an incident report states. When officers arrived, the juvenile was being “detained” by the grandfather. An officer tried to intervene and put the juvenile in handcuffs, at which point the 13-year-old suspect punched the deputy, causing the officers’ body camera to stop working, the report states. The teen also spit on the officer several times: saliva landed on the officers’ face and shoulder, according to a report. The teen has since been charged with assault and with throwing bodily fluids. He was placed into DJJ custody on the scene. There is no updated information on the physical condition of the victim or what prompted the assault.
In other crime news:
Children attached by dogs
Deputies with the Colleton County Sheriff’s Office were called to a Cottageville residence on Nov. 3rd to a case of an animal bite. According to a sheriff’s office incident report, a mother called 911 to say that she and her four children were attacked by dogs on Timber Bay Drive. There is no further information about what occurred, the extent of the injuries or if any arrests were made.
Interested buyers spook seller
Authorities were called to a Walterboro residence on Nov. 1st when two men came to a house to discuss buying parts from a Ford Ranger pickup. One of the men, who is a 23-year-old man, had a pistol under his shirt. At one point, while he was looking at the truck, the man removed the gun from his waist and placed the gun on the hood of the truck. The men did not make any threats against the owner of the truck, and put the gun back into his waist and left. The men left when the complainant’s brother came outside of the residence to see what was going on. A sheriff’s office incident report says that one of the men has since been arrested and charged with the unlawful carrying of a handgun. It is unclear if the truck was listed as being for sale.
Man threatens to rape young woman because she won’t sit by him
Police are investigating a 40-year-old Walterboro man who allegedly threatened to rape a 19-year-old girl because she wouldn’t sit by him. According to a Walterboro Police Department incident report, the victim told local police that she was at Waffle House in Walterboro when the suspect got upset with her because she did not want to sit by him. The suspect became “irate, screaming and yelling at her,” and then said, “If all these people were not here, I would rape you,” according to a report. The victim told police she does not know the suspect very well, and had only recently met him. The victim was very upset, according to officers, and asked for an officer to walk with her to her car so she could leave the scene. She declined to press charges.
Alleged kidnapping victim found locked in local restaurant bathroom
Walterboro police officers were called to McDonald’s last week to a report of a woman being held against her will. The woman had allegedly locked herself in a stall inside the restaurant’s bathroom, and claimed that the suspect was sitting outside in a Honda with a Florida license plate. When officers arrived, they found the male suspect sitting in the Honda Car and he was detained: at that point, the suspect told officers that he was on the phone with a 911-dispatcher from Florida. The woman told a local officer that she had been trying to locate the suspect and the victim. According to a local incident report, the woman had been taken against her will from Florida and was being held by the suspect. The man, however, said he didn’t know why the woman was making such claims and that they lived together in Florida. He also said he had taken her away from the state to get her away from drugs.
Ultimately, drugs were found on the suspects and in their car, including 35 grams of marijuana in mason jar and one gram of crystal meth.
Both were placed under arrest and taken to jail. The woman still claims to have been taken against her will, saying the suspect promised to take her Bush Gardens, but later said he was taking her Massachusetts: she did not want to go this location, according to her statements in the report. The suspected abduction is still under investigation.
Woman caught stealing water
Walterboro police officers arrested a 44-year-old Walterboro woman for stealing water from a local preschool. According to a Walterboro Police Department incident report, an officer was doing routine patrol along Hiers Corner Road when he saw the suspect standing next to the school with a flashlight. The suspect was filling up several 5-gallon buckets with water from a hose attached to the school. When asked what she was doing, the woman said she had permission from the school to use their water. However, when the officer spoke to the owner of the pre-school, she said she never gave anyone permission to use their water and was wondering why the school’s water bill had been so high. The suspect is accused of stealing 25 gallons of water on Oct. 30th. It is unclear how much water was taken prior to being caught. She is being charged with use of water without contract.
