August 11, 2015

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IN SPORTS: USC Sumter standout guiding Chapin/Newberry to Legion World Series B1

Hatfields, McCoys work together on attack site research TUESDAY, AUGUST 11, 2015

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75 cents

EMTs recovering from assault Caller reportedly fought 2 Sunday; charge upgraded BY ADRIENNE SARVIS adrienne@theitem.com One of the charges for the Richland County man who was arrested Sunday in connection with an attack on two Sumter County EMS personnel has been upgraded after

Sumter Police Department learned more about the injuries caused to the EMTs. William Terrell Hutley, 25, of HUTLEY 1513 Lower Richland Blvd. in Hopkins, is now charged with one count of assault and battery, first degree; one count of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature; and public disorderly

conduct for his alleged part in the incident. He was originally charged with two counts of assault and battery, first degree, along with disorderly conduct. According to a news release from the police department, the two EMTs, whose names have not been released at their request, responded to a call that came in Sunday afternoon of a man not feeling well and lying on the ground behind Frederick Citgo, 283 S.

Guignard Drive. When the first responders arrived at the scene, Hutley was lying on the ground but charged toward one of the men as they approached him, according to department Public Information Officer Tonyia McGirt. McGirt said she is unable to disclose the details of the physical altercation, but she did say that another EMT stepped in to help. Police officers arrived at the

location shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday after receiving a call that two EMS workers had been assaulted, according to the release. Hutley, who was incompliant with multiple verbal instructions from officers, was detained after a Taser was used, McGirt said. He is now being held at Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center pending bond.

SEE ASSAULT, PAGE A9

Sumterite charged in fire that killed 2 Suspect confessed to setting deadly 2013 Wedgefield blaze FROM STAFF REPORTS Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has charged a Sumter man with two counts of murder as well as other charges after the suspect confessed to starting a fire that killed an elderly couple at a historic Wedgefield home on Valentine’s Day in 2013. Jason Dustin Compton, 34, formerly of 4365 Bethel Church Road, has been charged with two counts of murder; one count of arson, first degree; and one count of burglary, first degree, for the intenCOMPTON tional fire that killed Edward Hall, 87, and his wife, Harriett Hall, 83, in February 2013. Both victims died from a combination of carbon monoxide poisoning and burns from the fire, which also destroyed the 170-year-old home in the 1000 block of S.C. 261 South. Compton already faces multiple violent crime charges including one count of murder in the 2014 bludgeoning death of a woman. The new charges against Compton come in addition to the litany of

SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO

Edward and Harriett Hall were found dead after a fire destroyed their home in the 1000 block of S.C. 261 South on Valentine’s Day 2013. After Jason Dustin Compton, 34, formerly of 4365 Bethel Church Road, confessed to starting the fire, Sumter County Sheriff’s Office has charged him with two counts of murder and other charges. charges he faces in a May 2014 incident that left 44-year-old Tracey Koepfler dead, a 14-year-old girl hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries and a wheelchair-bound 46-year-old woman injured. Deputies arrested Compton at the scene of the 2014 incident in the 4300 block of Bethel Church Road. Responding to reports of an attack, once

inside, officers found a woman in the living room, severely bludgeoned about the head with the apparent assault weapon, a metal hammer, lying near her. Investigations revealed Compton had also allegedly demanded, after attacking the victim, that both a 14-year-old girl and a 46-year-old woman at the home undress in front

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Social Security approaches its 80th birthday Friday, the federal government’s largest benefit program stands at a pivotal point in its history. Relatively modest changes to taxes and benefits could

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SEE CHARGES, PAGE A9

Ministry provides shelter for abandoned woman

Modest changes could save program U.S. to mark 80 years with Social Security

of him. When they refused, he also allegedly attacked them, choking the girl and trying to suffocate the woman by covering her nose and mouth. Compton also allegedly dragged the teenage girl into the living room of the home and forced her to watch him continue to assault the

BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com

AP FILE PHOTO

Lillie Steinhorn, 74, stands inside the computer tape storage room on Aug. 12, 1985, at the headquarters of the Social Security Administration in Baltimore. She began work for the agency in 1936, a year after the Social Security Act was signed into law. still save it for generations of Americans to come, but Congress must act quickly, and even limited changes are politically difficult. The longer lawmakers wait, the harder it will be-

come to maintain Social Security as a program that pays for itself, a key feature since President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Social

SEE PROGRAM, PAGE A9

DEATHS, B6 Marie R. Monroe Patricia H. Riddle Wilbert Dukes Robert M. Johnson Eddie Lowery Jr.

Abraham L. Washington William A. Kincaid Millie Ann R. Brunson Willie J. Whittaker Jr. Sarah H. Strange

Sumter United Ministries’ emergency shelter helped a woman in her 20s last week who was allegedly violently beaten, robbed and abandoned in Sumter. She said she was left with no money and was several hundred miles away from her residence in Texas, according to Mark Champagne, executive director of the ministry. The woman, whose name was not included to protect her identity, told United Ministries staff she traveled from

Texas to Sumter with a friend who was originally from the city. The woman told staff that after arriving in Sumter, a brief disagreement between her and her Sumter friend occurred, Champagne said. The Sumter woman’s boyfriend then allegedly beat, robbed and abandoned the Texas woman. She was left with no money and no place to go. As of Monday, it was unclear whether

SEE CARING, PAGE A9

WEATHER, A12

INSIDE

COOLER BUT RAINY

2 SECTIONS, 20 PAGES VOL. 120, NO. 250

Showers and a heavy storm possible today; partly cloudy tonight HIGH 85, LOW 71

Classifieds B8 Comics B7 Lotteries A12

Opinion A10 Television A11


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August 11, 2015 by The Sumter Item - Issuu