Sunday evening at about 10:45pm, a male suspect entered the BP Station located on Highway 34 at I-26 with a pistol and demanded money. The suspect took the money from the store and went outside where he robbed a customer of the store at the gas pump.

Witnesses saw the subject run to a vehicle parked on the west bound entrance ramp and then flee the area in the vehicle. No vehicle description is available at this time.

The suspect is described as a white male wearing a red hoodie and blue pants. The subject appears to be approximately 6 foot tall and weighed between 150-200 pounds. The suspect was wearing a mask.

Anyone with any information about this robbery is asked to contact the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 321-2222 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC

A substantial reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for this robbery.

You or a responsible adult should always accompany children ages 12 and under when trick-or-treating.

- Ensure costumes fit well, are flame retardant, and never obscure visibility.
- Have your trick-or-treater wear reflective clothing and/or carry a light or glowstick.
- Children over the age of 12 who are responsible enough to go without you, should stay in groups, follow an agreed upon route, and watch for cars.
- Check our website, www.gsco.org , for registered offenders residing in the area.
- Teach your children to never enter any home without you or without your permissions and only approach homes that are well-lit.
- Remind your children to stay in well-lit areas, never take shortcuts, and never go into isolated areas.
- Let your children know to tell you or a trusted adult if they see anything weird or unusual.
- Teach children to bring treats home before eating them. Eat only factory-wrapped treats unless you know the giver well.
- Teach your children to say NO and GET AWAY from any person or situation making them feel scared, uncomfortable, or confused; even if it means yelling, kicking, attracting attention or any other means of resisting. Trust their feeling, and be sure to tell a trusted adult.

The manhunt began shortly after 6:00 am this day. The search was conducted with bloodhounds from Newberry County, SLED and a SLED helicopter. Also assisting were agents of DNR and local citizens. Sheriff Foster thanked the cooperation of all law enforcement agencies involved and for the calls from citizens in helping locate Coker. In additon to Grand Larceny (Auto) and conspiracy Coker will be charged with Burglary. He was taken to the Newberry County Jail.

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Nigel Kendell Thomas, 21, of 461 Bel Ivy Road in being sought by the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office in connection with a domestic related shooting this afternoon. Investigators beleive he may be trying to leave the area.

Thomas is described as a black male who is 5′ 11″ tall and weighs about 170 pounds. He has black hair and brown eyes.

Thomas is thought to be traveling in a 2004 Saturn Ion four door car that is grey in color and bears South Carolina Registration HFX 850.

Anyone seeing Thomas is asked to call 911 immediately.

Sheriff Lee Foster says that one local case in particular highlights how local law enforcement, first responders and health care providers often are the ones left picking up the pieces when the system fails to work as it should. A flawed system that pits locals against the federal government and then against the state.

Anselma Rico-Martinez, 27, of Tarrant Street, Newberry, appears to suffer from serious mental health issues but often becomes aggressive toward others or commits acts that endanger herself and others. The Newberry Police Department has had numerous dealings with her and she has been arrested seven times since March 8. Rico-Martinez displays obvious signs of mental illness and is combative to the law enforcement and correctional officers, who are forced to deal with her.

When the correctional officers contact the Department of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as required by law, ICE refuses to deport her because she is mentally ill. So, law enforcement transports Rico-Martinez to the emergency room for medical/mental evaluation. Rico-Martinez is often combative with their staff as well, but because Rico-Martinez is an illegal alien she is not eligible for placement with the Department of Mental Health. Hospital staff is forced to provide emergency care and then release Rico-Martinez back onto the public, and the vicious circle starts all over again.

In fact, on at least one occasion Rico-Martinez has not even made it from the parking lot of the hospital of the immediate area before law enforcement is called and her actions dictate that she be arrested again.

After a recent arrest, she was released from jail after serving a determinate sentence and due to her actions in the jail; she was taken to Newberry County Memorial Hospital’s ER for treatment and placement. However; because she is illegally in the country, an official with the South Carolina Department of Mental Health said she is not eligible for treatment. The hospital released her and she walked to a nearby shopping center where she confronted customers and standing in traffic hitting cars. Police officers arrested her and she was again placed in the Newberry County Jail. A local magistrate released her stating she was mentally ill and did not belong in jail. He advised the jail staff to take her to for mental health help. Since it was the weekend the only place available was back to the local hospital. The hospital again released her. She did not clear the doors of the hospital before she got into confrontations with patrons of the hospital. She was released from custody again and then broke into a car and stole some personal items from the car so she was arrested again.

“An enormous amount of time and tax payer dollar is being expended on this woman, not to mention the danger she is to herself and the public” said Sheriff Foster. “Worse yet, there simply seems to be no end in sight to the situation. While some agencies chose who they accept and decline first responders such local law enforcement and public safety must deal with every person they encounter, good or bad. We must see a move to support the local first responder because I have long said you cannot have homeland security without hometown security.”

Sheriff said that from his understanding of the law introduced in South Carolina regarding illegal immigration would offer no assistance in this situation or those like it because deportation lies solely with ICE. The state government cannot compel the federal government to take action. We can only notify them, as we have done in this case, and they have to take action.

“This is a most frustrating situation but is endemic of a problem that is going to have to be dealt with so that nightmares no longer take place,” said Foster.

“This is a prime example of a federal problem that they refuse to deal with and just dump it on the local government. The federal government has failed to stem the tide of illegal immigration, yet when there is a problem in the local community with illegal immigrants, they have the luxury of saying they can’t deport or detain someone because they are mentally ill,” said Foster. “Then due to state laws and policies, not to mention lack of insurance, the state government won’t help because this individual is illegal. This puts it back on the local government to deal with creating bureaucratic double talk that resembles an episode from M*A*S*H.”

Sheriff Foster said that he had an idea that may help the local tax payer in this situation. “I am going to do is figure up the cost of this problem and bill the federal government for this, said Sheriff Foster. “I realize the possibility of collecting anything from the federal government is minimal. I am also going to ask the county attorney and/or the SC Attorney General’s Office to assist in efforts to sue members of the federal government that refuse to act.”

Anselma Rico-Martinez has the following arrests:
March 8 – Disorderly Conduct (Released April 6)
April 7 – Shoplifting (Released April 23)
April 30 – Assault and Battery (Released May 3)
May 4 – Disorderly Conduct, Open Container, Resisting Arrest (Released May 25)
May 25 – Petit Larceny (Released June 4)
June 10 – Littering, Disorderly Conduct, Interfering With Traffic (Release June 11)
June 11 – Breaking Into An Automobile and Petit Larceny (Still In Custody)

A burglary, stolen lottery tickets and fleeing suspects have made for a long day for deputies in Newberry County.

Just after 3am, deputies with the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office discovered Sligh’s Superette, a convenience store, located on Highway 391 outside of Prosperity broken into. Investigators say that lottery tickets, cigars and cigarettes valued at less than five hundred dollars were taken from the store. The deputy found the burglary just thirteen minutes after it was recorded on store video.

At about 1:00PM, two black males entered Bower’s BP located in Prosperity and attempted to redeem winning lottery tickets. As the clerk observed the men’s actions, he became suspicious and refused to cash in the lottery tickets. The clerk was able to get the vehicle description and the tag number of the vehicle and contacted law enforcement.

A Newberry County deputy was in the area and stopped on Highway 391 to see if the vehicle came by. From a distance away, the deputy saw the suspects quickly turn the vehicle around to avoid him and took off in the opposite direction. As the deputy attempted to locate the vehicle, he found it abandoned on the side of the road with the doors open just off at the intersection of Ira Kinard and Walker road. Two suspects were fleeing the vehicle as the officer came into view. The suspect’s vehicle was a dark green 1999 Honda Civic.

Investigators arrived on the scene and requested bloodhounds and helicopter support from the State Law Enforcement Division. Because of another ongoing call in another location in the state, investigators thought the SLED helicopter would be delayed so the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office provided air assistance as well.

Investigators say that in the vehicle they found more lottery tickets and while there received confirmation that the tickets attempted to be cashed at Bowers BP were in fact stolen from Sligh’s Superette as were the ones in the car.

Officers canvassed the area now confident that the suspects would either be responsible for the previous burglary or at least a vital link to identifying the persons responsible.

As a result of the investigation in the neighborhood, officers were able to take the two suspects into custody. The men were arrested at different homes in the community to which they had ties and both were arrested between 4 and 5PM today and both were arrested without incident.

The men were identified as:

Arsenio Bobby Epps, 32, of Grant Drive, Prosperity, SC charged with Receiving Stolen Goods.

Taparrish Javontre Sims, 18, of Sandy Manor Court, Leesville, SC charged with Burglary and Petit Larceny.

Warrants will be served on Sims in the morning for the Burglary at Sligh’s Superette and he will remain in custody until that time. He will have a bond hearing after the charges are filed.

Epps will see a Newberry County Magistrate in the morning for bond on his charge.

Additional charges are expected. Additional updates and releases will be issued as warranted.

“This was the perfect combination of an alert clerk, an alert deputy, cooperation within agencies to control the area and good old fashioned investigations to track the suspects in the neighborhood while the perimeter officers kept them from fleeing the area,” said Sheriff Lee Foster. “Hats off to everyone who worked on this investigation today and Newberry County can be proud of those who participated and worked to make sure that community could feel safe tonight.”

Sheriff Foster thanked the many members of the community who offered water and support during the incident.

Foster said that several volunteer fire and rescue members came out and set up hydration stations and directed traffic to keep the officers hydrated in the hot weather and freeing them to take part in the search for the men.

Sheriff Foster also thanked SLED and Lexington County for their invaluable assistance in this case.

In addition to this incident, the 911 center also had a structure fire at a shed that spread to a home keeping the center extremely busy throughout the day.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office at (803) 321-2222 or www.newberrycountysheriff.com.

You can also contact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC, www.sccrimestoppers.com or text your tip to “TIPSC plus your message” to CRIMES (274637).

Angela Ann Chapman, 36, of Lake Street, Whitmire, SC was arrested and charged with Obtaining Goods Under False Pretense on May 25. She appeared in court today representing herself and requested a trial by the judge.

After hearing the testimony of the State, represented by the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office, and the defendant, Magistrate Ron Halfacre found Chapman guilty of Breach of Trust With Fraudulent Intent.

“There is overwhelming evidence that you are guilty of this crime,” said Halfacre to Chapman on pronouncing the verdict. “The community put their trust in you and you breached that trust.”

Halfacre sentenced Chapman to pay $1,849.85 restitution to be paid within 30 days. If the restitution is not paid in that time, she will face a sentence of $2000.00 or 30 days in jail, the maximum penalty for this offense.

Because a large portion ($1527.85) of the contributions were cash donations given by various individuals, the Sheriff’s Office is going to donate that amount to St. Jude’s Hospital, if the restitution is paid. The remaining balance will go to documented victims who can provide records of their contributions such as cancelled checks.

“We felt that those who gave money did so with the final purpose of helping St. Jude’s Hospital with their treatment of children who really do have illnesses and diseases and need assistance so this seemed the appropriate disbursement of the funds because we absolutely were not going to allow the defendant to profit from this incident,” said Sheriff Foster. “Should she choose not to pay the restitution or fine, the community can rest assured that they she will be jailed in accordance with the sentence.”

For full details, go to https://local.nixle.com/alert/4699082/?sub_id=424904.

The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office received notification by the Columbia Police Department that they had located William Thomas Bowie yesterday. It is not clear exactly where Bowie was located; however, the officers reported that he appeared both safe and alert.

Bowie, 33, of Point Circle Road, Prosperity, SC was last seen on June 1, 2011 at about 5:30PM, when he left saying that he was going into Prosperity to play basketball.

An alert was sent out after Bowie sent text messages to his mother that caused the family to be concerned for his well being.

The Newberry County Sheriff’s Office thanked the Columbia Police Department, media, and public for their assistance in locating this missing person.