Grand jury sought

WALTERBORO -- A state grand jury investigation offers authorities the best chance to end the rural gang violence that has plagued Colleton County, according to 14th Circuit Solicitor Duffie Stone.

The grand jury's authority to compel testimony from reluctant witnesses and gather evidence across jurisdictions is just what authorities need to throw those responsible for the crimes behind bars and end the cycle of shootings, Stone said.

The prosecutor requested the state grand jury's help a month ago, but in that time it has met once without discussing the Colleton cases. "I'm disappointed we haven't started yet," Stone said.

Stone, however, soon might get his wish.

The State Law Enforcement Division has to sign off on the request, and its delay in doing so had held up the process. SLED Director Reggie Lloyd said Friday that his agency is prepared to move forward with the request and provide whatever help the grand jury needs.

"If there is something we can do to assist them, we would welcome that," he said. "At the same time, we will be continuing with the investigation we are running."

Mark Plowden, a spokesman for S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster, said McMaster had not yet received SLED's request. But based on the available information, it is likely that McMaster will give his blessing to the grand jury taking up the probe, Plowden said.

Stone said he was pleased with Lloyd's decision and is hopeful that the grand jury can begin its work when it meets next month.

Lloyd said SLED wasn't trying to delay the probe; the agency simply wanted to make sure authorities first explored their options and decided on the most effective approach for tackling the violence in Colleton County.

To that end, SLED officials have been speaking with Stone, McMaster and the U.S. Attorney's office, which eventually could end up prosecuting some of the cases, he said.

Lloyd said he doesn't think the state grand jury's involvement will interfere in any way with the SLED investigation.

SLED has been present in Colleton County since taking over the investigation of the Nov. 9 drive-by shooting that killed two adults and a 20-month-old girl and left six people injured.

Within days of the shootings authorities arrested and charged Denziel Chapman, 19, with one count of murder. Stone has said in court that they expect to make more arrests.

He and Lloyd declined to say how close they are to making any more arrests. Stone said he is working closely with SLED agents in the field and that he thinks everyone is on the same page.

"We all want the same thing," Stone said. "We want the violence to stop and we want those responsible to be held accountable."

Stone said he wants the grand jury to investigate all crimes that might be connected to this shooting.

He said they can pursue the other cases without slowing down the triple-homicide investigation.

"It's not an either-or situation," he said.

He said grand juries have been successful in the past at prosecuting cases where small groups of people are responsible for the majority of the crimes.

"I want everybody," he said. "I don't think we're going to make this place any safer until we take these people off the street and put them in jail."

Lloyd said he understands that residents are fearful of the violence and anxious for a solution. He said he also wants a long-term solution to the problem.

"One thing we ask is for people to have patience," he said.

"There are a lot of things going on in these investigations that we can't talk about right now. But we want people to have confidence that progress is being made, almost daily.

"We just ask them to keep coming forward with information, because that information is invaluable."