State and region

Woman charged over stripping

CHESTERFIELD -- Authorities say a woman has been charged with stripping for customers as young as 12 in her mobile home, which had a stripper pole in the living room.

Multiple media outlets reported Friday that 27-year-old Gwendolyn Lowery was arrested after deputies were given a flier about a party in her Chesterfield home.

Authorities say Lowery was dancing when deputies raided the home last Sunday. Investigators say they found about 20 people inside. Eight of them were juveniles, including a 12-year-old boy.

Deputies say they also found a price list for strip dances and alcohol. Lowery was charged with eight counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Investigators didn't know if she had a lawyer.

Council to follow 2008 prayer law

SPARTANBURG -- The chairman of County Council says the panel will follow a 2008 law on prayer at meetings, after a Christian prayer this month drew criticism.

The Herald-Journal of Spartanburg said Council Chairman Jeff Horton said he will try to make sure the chaplain prays at meetings.

Councilman O'Neal Mintz gave a controversial prayer at the March 15 meeting in place of the chaplain, who was absent. Mintz' comments about Jesus Christ, abortion and same-sex marriage prompted at least one complaint.

A 2008 law says government bodies can have a prayer by a designated chaplain, that members pray on "an objective and rotating basis" or that local religious leaders pray.

A federal court ruled in 2004 that public bodies can not name the deity of a specific religion in a prayer.

Robbery suspect jumps from bridge

COLUMBIA -- A man accused of robbing a bank has been arrested after he jumped 50 feet from an interstate highway bridge.

Multiple media outlets reported the man led police on a chase late Thursday morning from Columbia to the highway just south of the city where he stopped. Officers tried to talk him into surrendering for about an hour before he jumped.

Columbia police spokesman Brick Lewis said the man landed in mud or soft sand alongside the Congaree River and suffered bruises and scratches. Lewis said 28-year-old Russell Clark Munn is charged with bank robbery, armed robbery and possession of a gun during a violent crime. .

Mobile home fire kills twin brothers

SPARTANBURG -- Authorities said a fire at a mobile home killed twin 69-year-old brothers.

Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said Tonie and Ronie Smith were found dead in the home in Spartanburg shortly after the fire was put out Friday morning.

The coroner said an autopsy will be conducted to determine how the men died.

Fire officials think the blaze started near a kerosene heater. There were no smoke detectors in the home.

Sanford appoints interim sheriff

COLUMBIA -- Gov. Mark Sanford has appointed an interim sheriff for Williamsburg County.

Michael Lamar Johnson of Salters was appointed Friday to replace Kelvin Washington, who was confirmed last week as the state's new U.S. marshal. Johnson was the county's chief deputy.

Sanford spokesman Ben Fox said Washington recommended Johnson, 34, who has been in law enforcement for 13 years. He will serve as interim sheriff until voters elect a replacement in July.

Washington took over as marshal from Johnny Mack Brown, a former Greenville County sheriff nominated by President George W. Bush in 2002. Washington was nominated by President Barack Obama.

Man dies after fight at strip club

GREENVILLE -- Greenville County sheriff's deputies said a 36-year-old South Carolina man has died after a fight with security guards at a strip club.

Authorities said Joseph Collura of Moore started having trouble breathing after the fight inside the Greenville club and died at a hospital.

Deputies said the investigation into the death could take weeks as authorities interview the more than 100 people in the club and await results from toxicology tests on Collura.

Investigators said the fight appeared to start when guards tried to check Collura's ID.

Erskine College trustees blocked

NEWBERRY -- A judge has blocked the installation of new trustees on the board of Erskine College involved in a dispute with its religious denomination.

The Greenville News reported Circuit Judge Eugene Griffith Jr. on Thursday blocked the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church from installing trustees on the Erskine College board.

Griffith says he expects to make a decision next month on a lawsuit by two ousted trustees and the alumni association.

The lawsuit says the denomination didn't have the authority to remove 14 trustees without cause. The lawsuit also asks the judge to rule the church doesn't own the Due West school's property.