For the foreseeable future, Colleton County’s top law enforcement is a lieutenant with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
When South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued his Nov. 22 executive order temporarily removing R.A. Strickland as Colleton County sheriff, he named SLED Lt. Charles L. Ghent to serve as temporary sheriff of Colleton County.
Ghent, in a prepared release following the governor’s appointment, said “I am honored by this appointment and appreciate the opportunity to serve the citizens of Colleton County in this capacity.
“I stand committed in providing a law enforcement agency that is a professional, courteous and dedicated to serving the community,” Ghent said. “Every action we take will be in building and maintaining the community’s trust.”
Ghent, 42, is a resident of Edisto Beach and works in SLED’s Lowcountry region, which includes Colleton County.
He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1999 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and became a law enforcement officer in November of 2000.
Ghent joined the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division in March 2008 and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in March 2014.
The appointment of Ghent was the other shoe Strickland and other county residents had been expecting.
Nov. 22 began with the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office publicly reporting that a true bill had been issued by a Colleton County Grand Jury, indicting Strickland on a charge of second-degree domestic violence.
A true bill is a written decision of the grand jury members, signed by the grand jury foreperson, which states the grand jury heard sufficient evidence from the prosecution to believe that an accused person probably committed a crime and should be tried by a jury in criminal court.
To secure the indictment, at least 12 of the 16 members of the grand jury had to have found that there was sufficient evidence.
Later in the morning, a hand-delivered letter arrived at the governor’s office.
The short letter, written by Senior Assistant Deputy Attorney General S. Creighton Waters, stated:
“Please be advised that the Colleton County Grand Jury today indicted Colleton County Sheriff Robert Anderson Strickland Jr., for the offense of Domestic Violence in the Second Degree. A copy of the indictment is enclosed. As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.”
The information contained in the indictment was substantially the same allegations in the Strickland arrest affidavit filed by the SLED agent who was assigned to investigate the case.
According to the indictment, on Nov. 7 Strickland “did unlawfully caused physical harm or injury” to his live-in girlfriend.
He is also accused of using “physical force or the threatened use of force against another to block that person’s access to any cell phone, telephone or electronic communication device with the purpose of preventing, obstructing or interfering with the report of any criminal offense, bodily injury or property damage to a law enforcement agency.”
Strickland allegedly punched the woman in the face, refused to return her cell phones and damaged the vehicle in which she locked herself to elude him.
A few hours after receiving the letter, McMaster temporarily removed Strickland from the post he has held for approximately seven years.
Strickland, two days following his arrest on the second-degree domestic violence charge, issued a public statement saying he was taking a voluntary leave of absence from the sheriff’s office.
McMaster, in the days following Strickland’s Nov. 8 arrest on the charge, stated publicly he would temporary remove Strickland from office until the criminal case was adjudicated.
But he could not take that action until the evidence in the case had been brought before the grand jury and resulted in an indictment.
If Strickland is found guilty of the misdemeanor charge, the temporary removal will become permanent. It is likely Ghent would continue in that position until a new sheriff is elected in the 2020 General Election next November.
If Strickland is found not guilty, he returns to the sheriff’s office.
Strickland’s next court appearance is currently set for Feb. 14. He has hired Charleston attorney Andy Savage to represent him in the legal proceedings.
