4 arrested in Moncks Corner assault and kidnapping investigation
Officers with the Moncks Corner Police Department met with a victim at the Goose Creek Police Department on Feb. 1 who had injuries to her head and neck. The victim told investigators that she was robbed, beaten, and held against her will at gunpoint at a home on Waccamaw Circle.
Police said the victim was eventually able to escape from the home and went to the Goose Creek Police Department for help.
'The investigation also revealed activities that subjected the victim to sex trafficking,' said Moncks Corner Police Chief Stephen Young.
The victim was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Authorities executed a search warrant on the Waccamaw Circle home and recovered 35 dosage units of suspected MDMA, approximately 2.45 grams of suspected cocaine, approximately 4.5 grams of suspected cocaine base (crack), approximately 3.8 grams of suspected fentanyl, two firearms, and ammunition.
Four people were arrested and charged including Darrel Watkins, 42, of Moncks Corner, Crystal Louis, 36, of Moncks Corner, Kayla Reese, 36, of Moncks Corner, and Charles Goodman, 56, of Moncks Corner, who were taken into custody the morning of February 4th, by MCPD officers assisted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) during the execution of a search warrant on Waccamaw Circle in Moncks Corner.
All four face a slew of charges including possession with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, cocaine base, and MDMA among others.
Watkins was also charged with human trafficking, kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnapping, two counts of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, possession of a firearm during a violent crime, and pointing and resenting a firearm.
Louis was also charged with human trafficking, kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnapping, assault & battery of a high and aggravated nature, and armed robbery.
Both were denied bond.
Chief Young said the investigation is ongoing and asked that anyone with pertinent information related to this investigation contact Detective Tommy Harger at 843-719-7930 or T.Harger@monckscornersc.gov.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
3 hours ago
- New York Times
Grief Pervades a Somber Farewell to a Slain Police Officer
The sky opened, unleashing a torrent of rain. The thick drops fell heavily over a three-story mosque, soaking the ranks of Police Department officers who stood on the street outside. The Thursday afternoon downpour washed over the funeral of Didarul Islam, 36, an officer slain by a gunman in the heart of New York. As the speeches and prayers came to an end, water poured down, soaking dress uniforms and kurtas alike. The funeral, held in the Parkchester Jame Masjid, on a residential street in Mr. Islam's Bronx neighborhood, came three days after Mr. Islam was killed in the city's deadliest single shooting in 25 years. The shooting broke out on Monday, when a gunman entered an office building at 345 Park Avenue carrying an assault-style rifle and began shooting, killing Mr. Islam and then two others. He then headed to the 33rd floor, where he killed a fourth person and then took his own life. The attacker, who had traveled across the country from his home in Nevada, had intended to target the headquarters of the National Football League, the authorities said. The funeral drew hundreds of police officers from at least 54 of the city's 77 precincts, and more still from neighboring states and counties. It transformed the quiet neighborhood. Around the mosque, the streets were empty of cars. A 50-foot American flag, propped on two fully extended fire truck ladders, hung above the 6 train tracks a few blocks away. A jumbo screen on the back of a truck flashed an image of Mr. Islam holding his young son, with his Police Department uniform hat askew on the little boy's head. Snipers stood in position on buildings nearby. On the sidewalks, the officers mixed with crowds of women in hijabs and men in skullcaps; it was an intermingled sea of navy high-crowned hats and multicolored head coverings. The scene represented the diversifying face of a Police Department that once had been overwhelmingly white. But it was also a fitting celebration of the life of a man who had immigrated from Bangladesh and given his life to protect the city he now called home. 'Didarul Islam came to this country as an immigrant with no guarantees, only the hope that hard work, that humility, and that purpose might lead him somewhere meaningful,' Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during her remarks at the funeral. 'And it did.' The funeral rituals, which stretched nearly four hours in punishing summer humidity, began with viewings, first for women; then for men; then a private viewing for police executives and family and friends. By 10:30 a.m., more than a hundred women, most of them officers in uniform, had formed a line on the sidewalk next to the mosque, waiting to enter. All had to wear head scarves; one woman who came unprepared borrowed one. The room was bedecked with floral wreaths and an American flag. But the focus was a casket that lay covered with the green-white-and-blue standard of the Police Department. A group of more than a dozen women and children sat quietly before it, while women, both uniformed and plainclothes police, wept quietly around them. The hushed tones of Bangla and English filtered through the air. Just after noon, city and state officials, officers and community members packed a room in the mosque, side by side on the floor. Mayor Eric Adams spoke; Zohran Mamdani, who is running against him in the November election, sat with the family. Commissioner Tisch spoke of the officer with barely restrained emotion. He had come to New York City from Bangladesh at the age of 20. He was a stalwart husband and father. He lived in a small brick house with his parents, his sons, 5 and 7, and his wife, Jamila Akhter, who is pregnant with their third child and expected to deliver in a few weeks. Her eulogy for her husband, read aloud for her in the service, said Mr. Islam had 'lived to help others.' 'He gave his life protecting them,' she wrote. 'Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice might have saved others.' Mr. Islam had served in the department for just three and half years, but in that short time, he had done the job of an officer with twice as much experience, Commissioner Tisch said. He had joined the force after working two years as a safety agent in city public schools. He worked hard at his police job — long shifts and then more work as a security guard in his time off, all to bring a little more home. A promotion had been in his future, a fellow officer said. On Sunday, Mr. Islam had worked 'more than a full tour' at the Dominican Day Parade in the Bronx, and on Monday, he picked up an extra shift at 345 Park Avenue. 'He stepped into a new land and chose to become part of its promise, to believe in its dream. And he did believe in the American dream, not as something handed down but as something built with your own hands,' said Commissioner Tisch, who wore a black head scarf as she addressed the crowd inside the mosque. 'He may not be here to see that dream fulfilled, but his sons will surely grow up with its foundation beneath their feet.' Mr. Islam cared deeply about his Muslim faith, his friends and colleagues said in their eulogies. But he 'lived at a time when people like him are too often feared, vilified and made to feel like outsiders,' said Imam Dr. Zakir Ahmed of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York. 'We cannot honor Officer Islam today while ignoring the daily pain endured by his community — being told to go back where you came from, being watched more closely, judged more harshly and loved less fully,' Imam Ahmed said. 'To our city, our nation, you cannot ask us to serve and then silence us,' he said. 'You cannot take our sacrifice and ignore our suffering.' Murmurs of agreement echoed through the mosque. Outside, where the heat was stifling, hundreds of people craned to hear the service through speakers. Rows of mourners set up prayer mats and knelt to the ground. Several Police Academy cadets became overwhelmed by the heat and were escorted away. Two police officers fainted. The speeches concluded, and then the prayers. Outside, hundreds of officers lined up for a processional, the conclusion of the service. An officer walked down the ranks, pointing to the ground, reminding officers, 'toes on the line.' Then came the rain. First droplets, then a downpour. Six police officers emerged from the mosque carrying the flag-cloaked casket on their shoulders. They paused momentarily in front of a screen showing photos of Officer Islam and his children before sliding the coffin into an awaiting white hearse. Hundreds of officers stood motionless. Not one had an umbrella. A parade of police motorcycles revved, kicking off the procession that would soon carry Mr. Islam's body to its final resting place at a cemetery in New Jersey. A detective who had brought her 3-year-old daughter guided the child's hand to her head in a salute. 'We have to say goodbye to Officer Islam,' she said to the girl. The rain now came in torrents. The white hearse took off toward the Cross Bronx Expressway, crossing beneath the elevated 6 train station. A Manhattan bound train passed overheard and as the vehicles crossed paths, let out a long mournful horn salute. Mr. Islam's hearse headed on toward the cemetery. Maria Cramer, Ashley Ahn, Matthew Haag Fahima Haque and Wesley Parnell contributed reporting.
CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
Security will be heightened for Steelers Fest and "Friday Night Lights" practice on Friday
A record crowd of fans is expected on Friday in Latrobe for Steelers Fest at Legion Keener Park and the team's Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Because of the recent shooting in New York City that was targeting workers at the NFL offices in Midtown Manhattan, security at both events will be heightened. City of Latrobe Police Department Chief Richard Bosco said fans should expect to see a lot of uniformed officers, police dogs and drones in and around the event. "We will have remote cameras," Bosco said. "We will have participation from the school police, from the Steelers security teams, our own police department, the county park police will be there assisting us with bomb dogs, and we will sweep the areas before during and after the games." The chief said that everyone coming in for the Steelers' practice should treat it as though they are going to an NFL game on any given Sunday. Bosco also said that part of the security precautions for Friday will be to close traffic to the stadium at 5 p.m. when gates open, which means, unless someone has a handicap placard, most of the 4,000-plus fans coming out for Steelers Fest during the day and the 12,000-plus fans expected for Friday Night Lights will have to park in town and walk to the stadium. "All of our parking facilities, our on-street parking meters and our parking garages and our parking lots will be free parking, (fans) don't have to pay for the parking," Bosco said. "We do want people to use the accessible street parking, parking garages and the parking lots and if at all possible, please stay out of the residential areas because obviously people coming home from work will need a place to park their cars." Above all, the chief said attendees should give themselves extra time if they are coming to Latrobe on Friday, have patients, and if they see something unusual or out of the norm, report it to local police. Steelers Fest runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday Night Lights starts at 7 p.m., with gates opening at 5 p.m.
Washington Post
6 hours ago
- Washington Post
ICE detains police officer even after DHS system approved him for work
Federal authorities said they arrested a police officer in Maine last week for overstaying his visa — even as the agency that hired him said the Department of Homeland Security had verified his eligibility to work in the United States weeks earlier. Jon-Luke Evans, a Jamaican citizen, allegedly overstayed his visa for more than two years by the time Maine's Old Orchard Beach Police Department hired him this year, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. He then tried to buy a firearm for his new job, which ultimately led to his arrest on Friday, ICE said. The situation is the result of 'the Old Orchard Beach Police Department's reckless reliance on E-Verify to justify arming an illegal alien,' said Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs. E-Verify is a long-standing DHS program for employers to confirm a prospective hire's eligibility to work in the United States. But the police department says the federal government, which since President Donald Trump's return to office has launched an unusually aggressive immigration crackdown, is in the wrong. They say Evans submitted a work authorization form that was approved by DHS through E-Verify. The police department called Evans's work approval and subsequent arrest, both overseen by DHS, an 'apparent error on the part of the federal government,' suggesting a disconnect between state and federal authorities. Caught in the middle is Evans, whose immigration status could not be independently confirmed by The Washington Post on Thursday. McLaughlin said Thursday that using E-Verify 'does not absolve employers of their legal duty to verify documentation authenticity.' In a statement Monday, the police department said it only learned of Evans' arrest after ICE publicized it in a news release. The police department said it was 'distressed and deeply concerned' that the E-Verify program had not raised any flags before Evans was hired. It plans to probe the case and 'determine what other steps we should take moving forward to ensure our continued compliance.' As of Thursday, it was unclear whether Evans had retained an attorney. ICE and DHS did not respond to questions from The Post about where Evans is being held, his immigration status and whether they had been alerted to him at other points in the hiring process for the Old Orchard Beach Police Department. Since the late 1990s, employers have used E-Verify to confirm work eligibility of candidates. But the program has notable flaws, experts said. It can detect fraudulent documents, but a person could submit authentic information that does not legally belong to them and pass through the system. E-Verify also does not divulge information about a person's immigration status to employers. Evans entered the U.S. legally in September 2023, ICE said in its news release. The agency alleges that he was supposed to leave one week later, but he 'never boarded the flight.' According to a portion of Evans's personnel file with the police department, he studied agricultural education at a Jamaican university, and worked at chain restaurants in South Carolina and in maintenance at multiple Maine properties before applying to become a reserve police officer in April. That role helps fill out summer staffing during the state's summer tourism surge. Evans was hired on the condition that he passed a background check, drug screening and complete other training requirements. When the police department submitted the documents from Evans into E-Verify, it received a notification that he was legally permitted to work in the U.S. and his employment authorization document would expire in 2030, the department said. On June 20, Evans was officially appointed as a reserve police officer, according to his personnel file. But much of the public records are copies of certificates and department policies that Evans signed. They shed little light on what documents he submitted to the police department during his application process, and what files were submitted through E-Verify. After his hiring, ICE alleges that Evans tried to purchase a firearm, which alerted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Patricia Hyde, the director of ICE's field office in Boston, which arrested Evans, accused the Old Orchard Police Department of 'knowingly breaking the very law they are charged with enforcing.' 'The fact that a police department would hire an illegal alien and unlawfully issue him a firearm while on duty would be comical if it weren't so tragic,' Hyde said in the ICE news release. Verifying the authenticity of documents is not a burden that legally falls on employers, said Juliet Stumpf, a professor of law at Lewis & Clark Law School who focuses on immigration. When employers use E-Verify and receive a confirmation that a person is authorized to work, then it is presumed that the employer has not knowingly hired an undocumented worker, she said. 'It's one of the reasons that the federal government has touted to employers to use this in the first place is to get that presumption,' Stumpf said. E-Verify checks documents against existing government databases, such as records of the Social Security Administration. But outdated or inaccurate records elsewhere can prevent E-Verify from identifying issues with submitted materials, Stumpf said. An answer in Evans's case about what went wrong, if anything, will likely only come from a hearing in immigration court. 'We need to not jump to conclusions,' Stumpf said.
