BIG SUNDAY IN BIG EASY Harbaugh brothers, teams ready to collide in Super Bowl XLVII
B1
VOL. 118, NO. 91 WWW.THEITEM.COM
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2013 | SUMTER, SOUTH CAROLINA
FOUNDED OCTOBER 15, 1894
$1.50
Chamber names top honoree City’s newest Thompson Turner VP wins Business Person of the Year award
public defenders green but driven
BY BRADEN BUNCH bbunch@theitem.com
BY ROBERT J. BAKER bbaker@theitem.com
HILTON HEAD ISLAND — For their efforts during the past year, as well as their efforts aiding the Sumter community throughout the year, Hal Turner and former state Sen. Phil Leventis were honored by the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce at its annual retreat Saturday night. About 200 people from the Sumter area attended the event
Sumter’s three newest public defenders all gained their licenses to practice law within the past year or two. They work long days representing between 180 and 230 defendants each, navigating the sometimes treacherous waters of general sessions court in the 3rd Judicial Circuit, with their clients vacillating be-
BRADEN BUNCH / THE ITEM
Hal Turner, right, vice president of Thompson Turner Construction, shakes hands with Lee Holloway, of The Citizens Bank, as he receives the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce Business Person of the Year award SaturSEE AWARD, PAGE A4 day night at the chamber’s annual retreat in Hilton Head.
tween thinking they’re magicians or deriding them as second-rate attorneys. Still, Grant B. Smaldone, Julie M. Richard and J. Christopher Shipman say criminal defense is their calling, even if they didn’t always know they wanted to practice law. “With criminal defense, especially in Sumter, (public defenders) SEE DEFENDERS, PAGE A6
Sumter County Sheriff ’s Office releases crime statistics Yearly report shows arsons, vehicle thefts up; violent offenses decline in 2012 BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Sumter County cut its homicide rate by more than half in 2012 but saw other crimes go up in the Sheriff’s Office’s end-ofyear summary of crime reports. DENNIS Crime analysts with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office prepared an “executive summary” of the past year’s crime numbers for the unincorporated
portions of the county. The numbers will be submitted to the State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI. Final numbers are tentative, officials say, and some categories could be revised. Totals will be presented by the sheriff at this weekend’s Chamber of Commerce retreat in Hilton Head. The number of killings in Sumter County was more than cut in half — dropping from nine in 2011 to four — while most property crimes saw an increase in numbers. Sheriff’s deputies responded to 501 burglaries in 2012, versus 402
the year before, a 24.6 percent increase. Arsons rose from 16 to 33 (106 percent), and motor vehicle thefts went from 37 to 70 (89 percent). Larcenies went from 433 to 458 (5.8 percent). In the category of violent crimes, the Sheriff’s Office reported rapes and aggravated assaults dropped about 17 and 28 percent respectively, from 30 rapes in 2011 to 25 this past year, and 474 aggravated assaults to 340. Simple assaults rose from 841 to 875 (4 percent), and robberies were up 68 percent, from 22 to 37.
20 N. Magnolia St. Sumter, SC 29150 (USPS 525-900)
www.theitem.com
SEE CRIME, PAGE A5
OUTSIDE BRIGHT & BRISK
DEATHS Information: 774-1200 Advertising: 774-1236 Classifieds: 774-1234 Delivery: 774-1258 News, Sports: 774-1226
Michael M. Baird Jr. Daisy E. Wilson Allie Ham Thomas B. Johnson Johnny Richardson Sam E. Samuels Sr.
INSIDE 5 SECTIONS, 34 PAGES
Sunny and breezy through the day; cold and clear during the night. HIGH: 58 LOW: 28 A9
A10
Classifieds Comics Daily Planner Opinion Outdoors Television
D3 E1 A10 A8 B6 E3