3 men arrested in kidnapping

Three Walterboro men were arrested Tuesday in connection with the shooting and kidnapping of a 78-year-old Hampton County woman during a home-invasion robbery early Monday, authorities said.

The victim, 78-year-old Margaret Gooding of Old Salkehatchie Road in Miley, was found in the trunk of her car, which had been abandoned near a business off Hampton Street, in Walterboro, about 20 miles from her home. She had been shot in the abdomen and was flown by helicopter to Medical University Hospital, where she was reported to be in stable condition.

The car was ditched within blocks of the site where three people, including a 20-month-old, were killed and eight others were wounded Nov. 9 during a drive-by shooting. Two days later, two more people were shot at while riding in a car nearby. Since those shootings, Walterboro has been saturated with federal, state and local law enforcement officers.

Gooding's ordeal had begun about 14 hours before she was found, Hampton County Sheriff T.C. Smalls said Tuesday.

Deputies were called to Gooding's home about

1:30 a.m. Monday by neighbors who were concerned after hearing gunshots at her house. When deputies arrived, they found a broken window, and there was blood inside the house.

Gooding was gone, and so was her car. Authorities began an intensive search for Gooding and her car.

About 2 p.m. Monday, a man went into a Walterboro bank and tried to cash one of Gooding's checks, Smalls said. That man was apprehended and detained for questioning, but Gooding and her car were still missing.

About 3:30 p.m. Harold Groves of Walterboro dialed 911 to report an abandoned car outside his plumbing shop on Highland Circle. Groves said he'd been keeping his eye on the car all day. About 9 a.m., he asked his nephew to check out the car.

"He said, 'Uncle Harold, there ain't nothing but a cane in there.' So we didn't think much of it," Groves said.

He went to lunch at Hiott's Pharmacy and a waitress told him about the search, Groves said. About 3 p.m. he went out to check out the car. "I go and see the keys on the car seat. I said, 'My God, this is the car they are looking for,' " he said.

A swarm of law enforcement officers arrived within minutes and they found Gooding in the trunk, Groves said.

"It broke my heart," Groves said. "They had her legs toward the front of the car, and her head was toward the back of the trunk. They told me she'd been shot."

During a press conference Tuesday, the sheriff credited Groves with saving Gooding's life, but Groves said he doesn't see himself as a hero.

"The Lord made me stop there for that woman," he said. "I know that. I am no hero." He said he felt bad that he had let the car sit near his shop for much of the day.

Meanwhile, investigators had been questioning the man who tried to cash Gooding's check. The investigation led to the arrests. Two men were accused in the robbery, kidnapping and shooting. A third was charged as an accessory .

Stevie Lamont Aiken, 30, of 609 4th Street, and Nathaniel Harris, 48, of 100 Sniders Highway, Apt. L3, were each charged with first-degree burglary, kidnapping, assault and battery with intent to kill, being a felon in possession of a weapon, and grand larceny. Derrick Lade Aiken, 29, of 315 6th Street, is charged with accessory before and after the fact.The men were being held in the Hampton County jail.

Sheriff's spokeswoman Shellie Murdaugh said Stevie and Derrick Aiken are brothers.

During the press conference, Smalls described the incident at Gooding's house as a robbery gone bad, according to multiple media outlets. He said the robbers had thrown a brick through a window to get into her home and Gooding fired at them with her handgun but she missed. One of the robbers shot her in the stomach.

Groves said the incident has increased the anxiety among Walterboro residents.

"It's really gotten out of hand. People are buying guns left and right," Groves said. His wife has a shop near where the car was found. "She's packing a .38 and she's good at 100 feet," he said. "I am going to take a shotgun into my shop. If someone comes in there, I will blow them to pieces."