Highway Patrol troopers ticketed an Anderson County deputy they said fell asleep at the wheel and crashed his patrol car.

Troopers said that the deputy fell asleep at about 5 a.m. Tuesday. He ran through a stop sign and ended up in a ditch near the intersection of Riddle and Sexton Gin roads in the Iva area.

The deputy was not injured. It was not immediately clear if the deputy was on duty at the time of the crash.

The Anderson County Sheriff's Office investigators said that they will look at the Highway Patrol's report before determining if any action will be taken against the deputy.

ANDERSON, S.C. -- Nearly a year after a rookie police officer was shot while responding to a robbery, the police chief announced charges in the case.

Anderson Police Chief Marty Brown said Tuesday that 25-year-old Shantiago Emanuel Smith, of Belton, faces a total of ten charges in connection with the shooting and robbery.

 

Brown said, "This violent offender is one that assaulted and attempted to kill one of our police officers. We haven't rested a day since that incident has occurred. We have pursued every lead that has been produced ..."

Brown said that Smith has been in jail for the past month on unrelated charges.

Brown said, "Obviously it is a great relief to Officer Fikes and his family -- knowing the individual was out there -- he knew who the officer was who tried to apprehend him. You can imagine the relief he and his family feels knowing that we got this guy behind bars."

Smith is charged with four counts of armed robbery, four counts of kidnapping, assault battery with attempt to kill and possession of a fire arm during the commission of a crime.

Officer David Fikes was shot twice in the upper arm. Another three shots were deflected by his bullet-proof vest. Fikes credits his body armor with saving his life.

Fikes had been a police officer for less than a year when he responded to the report of a robbery at Churchill's Pub on Highway 81. The robber held the bartender and some customers hostage during the robbery. The customers were tied up with rope, but one was able to get free and called 911.

Fikes was shot when he confronted the robbery suspect, now identified as Smith, behind the pub.

A bond hearing will be held for Smith Wednesday morning.

As far as Fikes goes, Brown says nearly losing his life in the line of duty hasn't changed him.

"His spirits haven't changed a bit," Brown said. "He's the same hardworking, dedicated officer that he was he first day he put on that uniform and that incident hasn't changed him a bit."

COLUMBUS, S.C. -- A former South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was convicted of drug trafficking on Thursday.

Walter Raleigh Johnson, Jr., 41, of Atlanta, Ga., formerly of Anderson, supplied Mayo Pickens, 29, of Anderson, with kilogram quantities of cocaine.

Johnson's co-defendant, Adarryus Ellington, 35, of Anderson, was convicted of laundering the money the men made from dealing drugs.

Johnson was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin McDonald said the government had no evidence that Johnson was involved in drug trafficking while he served as a trooper. Johnson is also a former Marine.

The verdict followed a lengthy investigation into the cocaine, crack cocaine and marijuana trafficking activities of a drug conspiracy headed by Pickens, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to the same offenses.

McDonald said along with Johnson and Pickens, 11 other Upstate men have been convicted of drug and money laundering offenses and are awaiting sentencing.

LAURENS COUNTY, S.C. -- A South Carolina Department of Corrections officer is accused of trying to deal drugs to inmates.

Charley Nicole Calvert is charged with misconduct in office and possession with intent to distribute drugs.

State Law Enforcement Division agents said that Calvert took drugs from an undercover officer in Laurens County with the intent to sell them to an inmate for $300.

WINNSBORO, S.C. -- Fairfield County deputies said Thursday that they busted four moonshine stills and destroyed about 30 gallons of the homemade liquor.

Sheriff Herman Young said his office's narcotics investigators found four stills in some woods and smashed them with guns and axes Thursday.

Investigators also destroyed 20 gallons of clear moonshine and 10 gallons of moonshine flavored with fruits.

Young said the stills are part of a broader investigation his deputies are still conducting.

SIMPSONVILLE, S.C. -- A Simpsonville couple is accused of exposing a child to drugs by running a methamphetamine lab in their home.

Simpsonville police and Greenville deputies searched a home on Shagbark Ct in the Westwood subdivision on Friday. Officers said that they found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and a working methamphetamine lab in the home. They also found an 8-year-old boy.

Police said Luke Freeman Hitt, 35, and Tracy Denise Hollingsworth, 33, are charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, manufacturing methamphetamine and unlawful exposure of a minor child to methamphetamine and chemicals.

The child was taken into protective custody by the Greenville Department of Social Services.

Lt. Ralph Bobo said, "It's always a sad situation when a small child is being affected by something he doesn't understand, and that was an issue today. He didn't understand why such a fuss was made over him because he didn't understand what methamphetamine is."

Hitt and Hollingsworth are being held at the Greenville County Detention Center

A hazardous materials cleanup crew from Columbia was called to remove any hazards in the home, but police said that it wasn't a large meth lab, and neighbors said that no one believed it posed an immediate danger to the neighborhood.

Investigators said that they have responded to several domestic calls at the home in recent months. Police said that during those visits, Hitt's behavior and the condition of the home caused them to suspect drug use.

Police said neighbors also called about extra traffic going to and from the home.