Local mother investigated for possible child abuse against newborn baby
By HEATHER RUPPE
Officers were called to Colleton Medical Center last week for a report of suspected child abuse against a newborn baby.
According to a Walterboro Police Department incident report, hospital staff alerted local authorities to the suspected cause of child abuse, saying the newborn was brought into the hospital’s Emergency Room on Nov. 6th by the child’s 21-year-old mother, who said the baby had swelling on the top right portion of his head. The woman also said that the infant’s eye lid was bruised: the woman blamed the injury on the newborn’s 1-year-old sibling, who she said dropped a cell phone onto the baby. While observing the child, hospital officials called the Department of Social Services (DSS) and also said the child needed to be transported to the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in Charleston for further examination. The woman also said that the baby’s skull was fractured because of something that occurred at child birth, the report states.
There is already a current DSS case open against the mother, according to the incident report.
This instant continues to be under investigation by DSS and by local police.
In other Colleton County crime news:
Church burglary under investigation
A Cottageville church was burglarized last week. According to a Colleton County Sheriff’s Office incident report, the Little River Holiness Church on Augusta Highway in Cottageville was broken into on Nov. 15th. It is unclear what was stolen or if any damage occurred.
Storage unit also operated as a drug house
The operator of a storage unit company found drugs and a possible hemp farm inside an abandoned storage unit. According to a Colleton County Sheriff’s Office incident report, the operator of Monster Storage Units on Robertson Boulevard in Walterboro called 911 to report that he was investigating an abandoned storage unit (not paid for) when he discovered drugs. It is unclear how much drugs were found. The man also discovered seven plastic totes filled with marijuana and seed packages consistent with Hemp farming, the report states. This case is under investigation.
School assaults
Last week, law enforcement officers were called to Colleton County Middle School and Colleton County High School more than seven times for various problems. These incidents include reports of assault, student threats, intimidation, students fighting and one report of a weapon on school grounds. There are no details on these cases, as they involve juveniles.
Three arrested in brawl
Three women were charged with assault after they were caught fighting in someone’s yard. The women – who range in age from 19 to 24 years old – are all from Walterboro. According to a Walterboro Police Department incident report, a resident called 911 and said there were two people standing on her porch that she didn’t know. When officers arrived to the Alexander Street residence, they heard shouting in the yard. Officers said in their report that they “ran” to the scene and found about 10 people standing, watching a fight in progress. The officers saw the women throwing punches and one victim said they were hit in the face with rocks. The incident began when one of the offenders asked another offender to meet her to discuss a prior verbal altercation that had occurred, and then the fight began. Each of the three women were charged with third-degree assault and battery and disorderly conduct.
One of the women was treated at the scene by firefighter-paramedics before being taken to Colleton Medical Center for further treatment.
Gas station theft
A 39-year-old Round O man is charged with shoplifting after he was caught stealing nearly $70 worth of items from the En Market store on Robertson Boulevard in Walterboro. According to a Walterboro Police Department incident report, the offender walked into the store with a plastic Food Lion bag and went to the motor oil display shelf, taking seven quarts of oil and putting them into the bag. The man wen walked out with paying. Before coming into the store, however, he was carrying a book bag: when the store clerk saw the bag, she told the man he could not come into the store carrying that bag, so he took it off and left it outside. The man did not pick this back up when he left the store. Officers found 45 pills and multiple other pill bottles inside that bag, the report states. This case is under investigation.
