Three arrested in Folly brawl want jury trials

Three of the men arrested in a July Fourth melee on Folly Beach have asked for a jury trial.

A jury trial could shed some public light on what happened that day near East 10th Street. The incident prompted the ordinance banning alcohol on the beach.

But it’s not likely to happen before November, Municipal Court Clerk Nicole DeNeane said Tuesday. Folly Beach usually holds trials about every three months, and the August docket is full.

Alex Presby, 20, of Clarks Hill; Daniel Werney, 23, of Bogard Street in Charleston; and Stanley Randal Coleman, 23, of Travelers Rest, want a trial. They were charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

The three were scheduled to appear Friday morning in Folly Beach Municipal Court but asked for a jury trial instead, DeNeane said.

Three others who were arrested by Folly Beach police have asked for later court dates. They are Michael Harvey, 19, of Murfreesboro, Tenn.; James Restrepo, 22, of Lawrence Street in Charleston; and Adam Shuster, 22, of Douglasville, Ga.

Shuster and Restrepo are scheduled to appear in court next month, and a date has not been set for Harvey. It’s possible they could also ask for jury trials, DeNeane said.

Daniel Fernell of Johns Island, whose July Fourth arrest for disorderly conduct was previously reported by news media, was not part of the melee near 10th Street and went to court separately, she said.

A Charleston County deputy also arrested a man in the brawl. Hunter Meadows, 22, of Laurens Street in Charleston, also was charged with disorderly conduct. An update on his case was not available Tuesday.

Reach Dave Munday at 937-5553 or twitter.com/dmunday.