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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2014
THE SUMTER ITEM
Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: pressrelease@theitem.com
Suspect in custody in fatal Summerton shooting BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com The Clarendon County Sheriff’s Office has arrested a suspect in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old man during an apparent home invasion in Summerton last week. Anthony Thomas James, 23, of 1100 W. Hodge Road,
Manning, was taken into custody Tuesday and charged with murder in the shooting death of Johnté ShaJAMES heed Holliday of Hoke County, N.C. Maj. Kip Coker said James did not resist his arrest.
Other charges against James are pending, according to law-enforcement officials. Holliday was shot twice in the upper chest on Feb. 6 after two suspects entered a home in the 6000 block of Furse Road in Summerton. The victim was transported by ambulance to Clarendon County Hospital, where he later died.
According to reports, Holliday’s uncle, 29-year-old Terrance Holliday, said his nephew allowed the suspects to enter the house before they drew weapons and ordered him and the victim to lay on the kitchen floor and demanded money. He said he was struck by one of the suspects and later heard four gunshots. Police reported
finding two shell casings nearby. Terrance Holliday was able to give descriptions of the assailants to police, who later released an artist’s sketch of one of the suspects. As of Thursday, the second suspect remained at large. Reach Jim Hilley at (803) 7741211.
Cabin fever, cold, health needs bring out residents
LOCAL & STATE BRIEFS FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Gallery reception opens exhibition Executive Director Karen Watson said tonight’s opening reception at the Sumter County Gallery of Art is still on for 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The reception opens the exhibition “The Paternal Suit: Heirlooms from the F. Scott Hess Family Foundation,” which can be viewed at the gallery through April 18. Admission to the catered reception is free to gallery members, $5 for non-members during regular gallery hours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays. Artist Scott Hess will lead a gallery walkthrough and artist talk from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, as well. Call (803) 775-0543 for more information.
BY IVY MOORE ivym@theitem.com Sumter Cut Rate Soda Fountain on South Main Street had a steady influx of customers Thursday morning, as residents without power searched for warmth, hot food and company. Soda Fountain manager Todd Touchberry was doubling as short-order cook, as many of the diner’s employees were unable to get in to work. The menu was limited, but no one complained. Channing Jones’ family took him to the Cut Rate for a more urgent reason — they’d been without power since early Wednesday, and Channing, who has asthma, badly needed a breathing treatment. He sat quietly on a bench near the pharmacy, a mask over his nose and mouth, looking to his father, Channing Strange, for reassurance. “I’m 3 years old,” Channing Jones said, holding up three fingers, one at a time. “Our lights have been out since (early Wednesday), and he needs two or three treatments a day, or he can’t breathe, and he gets scared,” Strange said. “None of our neighbors had electricity, either, so my mother-in-law said we should come here, because their lights are always on.” Meanwhile, Channing Jones’ mother and grandparents were happy not only that he was OK, but that they were finally in a warm place, where they were also anticipating their first hot meal in a while. “This is our first time out,” Channing’s grandmother, Pam Jones, said. “The cold ran us out. And we were getting on each other’s nerves.” She laughed. “Actually, we had the opportunity to spend some quality time together.” The Rev. Stanley Jones, her husband, agreed it was nice to “go back to the old days, have some one-on-one conversations. We old folks — I was born in 1953 — remember what it was like not to have a lot of TV and no computer.” “We weren’t prepared,” Pam Jones said. “We didn’t have flashlights or batteries.” “Channing got scared when the lights went out and his tablet wouldn’t work,” his mother, Dacia Strange, said. The family was drinking hot chocolate and coffee, waiting for a patty melt, hamburgers and fries, when Channing finished his treatment and joined them, his breathing much better. Jay and Sharon Christmas braved the elements for some warmth.
Tent ban proposed for Grand Strand
PHOTOS BY IVY MOORE / THE SUMTER ITEM
Channing Jones, 3, looks to his father, Channing Strange, for reassurance as he undergoes a breathing treatment at Sumter Cut Rate on Thursday morning. Their family was without power, and the young boy needs two or three treatments a day to remain healthy.
Sharon and Jay Christmas, left, escaped their cold home for some coffee and a burger at the Cut Rate Soda Fountain on Thursday.
MYRTLE BEACH — It may be hard to think about a trip to the beach with a winter storm affecting South Carolina, but officials on the Grand Strand are looking toward the summer and recommending a ban on beach tents. The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported members of the Coastal Alliance agreed Wednesday to seek bans on the tents. The alliance is made up of representatives of local cities and towns. Any ban would have to be approved by their respective governing bodies. The first test comes in North Myrtle Beach next week. Officials said the tents have become so popular it’s difficult to get emergency vehicles onto the beaches. Those who use them say they need them on daylong beach trips.
Todd Touchberry, above right, kept busy cooking burgers and BLTS during lunch Thursday. “We haven’t had a hot meal since (Tuesday),” Sharon said. “It’ll be wonderful to have a cup of coffee. I’ll have a hamburger and, hopefully, some sweet
potato fries, too.” The couple have been subsisting on snacks and “food we cooked up earlier. Not as tasty cold, but OK.”
CORRECTION If you see a statement in error, contact the City Desk at 774-1226 or pressrelease@theitem.com.
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