Police blotter - Charleston and Charleston County
Police: Brawl in stall leads to assault charge
A woman accused of taking too long in a restaurant bathroom was choked, punched and bitten by a woman who'd been waiting for her turn, according to a Charleston police report.
The report says EMS treated the 31-year-old injured woman for a bleeding thumb. An officer on downtown foot patrol at 1:45 a.m. Jan. 6 reportedly was told of an altercation and that a 21-year-old assault suspect was walking away from the restaurant.
The officer detained the woman, and after questioning her, the purported victim and witnesses, charged the 21-year-old with third-degree assault, the report says.
The 31-year-old apparently had been chatting from her stall with the user of the stall next door when the 21-year-old became impatient and began to complain loudly that the two were "taking their time," according to the report.
The 31-year-old told police she opened her stall door "to see what was going on," and the waiting woman lunged at her throat, punched her in the cheek with a fist and, when she tried to defend herself, bit her thumb, breaking the skin and drawing blood, the report says.
'Practicing rap vocals' may result in rap sheet
An officer on patrol Jan. 18 on King Street heard "an excessive amount of screaming coming from an unknown location" and then discovered the source: a man who insisted he "was practicing his rap vocals," according to a Charleston police report.
The report claims the 47-year-old was walking and screaming obscenities and that he yelled in the directions of passers-by. "A profound smell of alcohol was coming from this person," the report states.
The report says the man claimed to be walking to meet "the trolley," but could not explain how he arrived at his current location. His speech was slurred and his eyes "extremely bloodshot and glassy," the report says. He was charged with public disorderly conduct, the report says.
Suspect in auto wreck found in lawn chair
Deputies responding to a reported single-vehicle accident in West Ashley found the suspected driver sitting in a lawn chair and his car in a ditch nearby, according to a report.
Upon further review, a Charleston County Sheriff's Office report states, the car was linked to a nearby downed mailbox, and the 55-year-old driver was found to have a suspended license and to be wanted by the sheriff's office. Damage to the car was estimated at $1,500. The driver was charged with driving under suspension and reckless driving. After being checked by a hospital, the driver was booked into the Charleston County Detention Center, the report says.
Police cite woman in 2 hit-and-run cases
After her car rear-ended another car in West Ashley, a 43-year-old with a suspended license reportedly stepped out, told the other driver the wreck was not her fault, yelled an expletive, drove off and ran into another car, a Charleston police report states.
The report says the accidents happened Jan. 18, and after the first collision, the 43-year-old stopped, but when asked about her insurance said just one word and drove away. She hit another car nearby, a report says.
An officer went to the residence that the vehicle's tag came back to, and spoke with the owner, who said his mother was driving the vehicle, the report says. The responding officer reported that the owner and his "elderly mother" came to the scene of the second accident, and that he told the owner his mother was not the driver and recommended he have the true offender report to the scene.
An officer drove the owner's mom home and picked up the suspect while another officer waited with the car and its owner, a report says.
The 43-year-old, who was convicted of driving under suspension last June, was charged with second-offense DUS and two counts of failure to report an accident, the report says.
Shoplifting suspect arrested at home
A store clerk on Jan. 15 jotted down the tag number of a car being driven away by a man suspected of stealing a case of beer.
A deputy used the number to identify the suspect and his address, and arrested him at his home, a Charleston County Sheriff's Office report states.
The man, who reportedly "had consumed several of the stolen beers" by the time he met the deputy at his door, is alleged to have said he "did a stupid thing by not paying for the beer."
The 22-year-old claimed he'd "intended to pay for the stolen beer, but there was a line at the register and he just walked out the store," the deputy wrote.
He was charged with shoplifting, the report says.
These news items are taken from selected incident reports from Charleston police and Charleston County Sheriff's Office.
