Latest news with #GreenvilleCountySheriff'sOffice
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Upstate sheriff's office sued over deadly 2024 shooting
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – The family of a man who was shot and killed by a Greenville County deputy in 2024 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit, claiming he was mistaken for an assault suspect. 51-year-old Robert L. Campbell was shot and killed the night of January 26, 2024 while Greenville County deputies were responding to an assault at a business next door to Campbell's property. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office later said that Campbell fired at deputies and deputies returned fire, killing him. The lawsuit claims that deputies were on the wrong property and believed that Campbell was the assault suspect they were seeking. The suit said that Campbell believed he was dealing trespassers on his property and that he fired a warning shot into the air, not at deputies. The lawsuit alleges negligence by the deputies by failing to properly identify themselves or deescalate the situation. Deputies are also accused in the lawsuit of failing to provide aid or life-saving measures to Campbell until 35 minutes after the shooting. Four deputies, Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis, and the Greenville County Sheriff's Office are named in the lawsuit which was filed last week. The Greenville County Sheriff's Office declined to comment. Read the full lawsuit below: Robert-Campbell-Wrongful-Death-Lawsuit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
1 dead in shooting involving Greenville Co. deputies
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – One person is dead in a shooting Thursday involving deputies in Greenville County. The shooting happened along Cannon Road near Greer, according to the Greenville County Sheriff's Office. The Greenville County Coroner's Office confirmed that one person had died. The sheriff's office said all deputies are okay. According to Greenville County Sheriff, Hobart Lewis, deputies were assisting the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office with locating a suspect with multiple warrants. The suspect had appeared with a weapon and deputies fired shots, according to Lewis. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division is investigating the shooting. A Critical Incident Community Briefing, providing detailed information regarding the shooting, will be released on the Greenville County Sheriff's Office's YouTube channel on July 13, at 8:00 am. We will update this story as more information becomes available. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
02-05-2025
Rose petals and a blade: Pianist confesses in woman's 2021 stabbing death
It began with a 911 call from a quiet, suburban neighborhood outside Greenville, South Carolina, on an autumn morning in 2021. When police arrived, they came upon a grisly scene: a single mother and veterinary technician had been stabbed to death in the living room of her home. They also found red rose petals scattered about and a pungent chemical odor that perplexed them. What came next was equally shocking -- the arrest of Zachary Hughes, a 29-year-old Juilliard-trained pianist with no criminal record and no known relationship with the 41-year-old victim, Christina Parcell. "We had no suspects and then with a click of a button, it's like, well, we just figured out who did it," Greenville County Sheriff's Office Master Deputy Blake Wolfe said. "I felt like I just won the lottery." A new "20/20" episode, "The Rose Petal Murder," airing Friday, May 2, at 9 p.m. ET on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu, examines the case. You can also get more behind-the-scenes of each week's episode by listening to "20/20: The After Show" weekly series right on your "20/20" podcast feed on Mondays, hosted by "20/20" co-anchor Deborah Roberts. On Oct. 13, 2021, Parcell's then-fiancé, Bradly Post, found Parcell lying in a pool of blood with 35 stab wounds. "It was a slaughter -- make no mistake about that," Tina Parcell, the victim's sister, told ABC News. Post informed officers that Christina was embroiled in a bitter custody dispute with a man named John Mello, the father of her 9-year-old daughter. He told police that they should look into Mello, who was then living in Italy. However, the investigation took an unexpected turn when Post himself came under scrutiny for an entirely different reason. "Bradly Post appeared in pristine condition, freshly showered in a sports coat, a white shirt, slacks and loafers," 13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said. "Not somebody that had just committed a horrific murder." While Post was cleared of the murder, investigators say they made a disturbing discovery. He agreed to let police examine his phone, signed a consent form and provided the police with his password. According to court documents, detectives found "a high volume of child pornography" on his devices which led to his arrest on charges of sexual exploitation of a minor and criminal sexual conduct with a minor. The breakthrough in the murder case came when police obtained ring camera footage from a neighbor's home across the street from Parcell's residence. It showed a figure entering the front of her home on the morning she was killed. "We were extremely lucky the Ring camera across the street was highly sensitive to cars driving by and a white Ford Explorer drove by at the exact moment that the individual was walking up," Wilkins said. Other security camera images around the neighborhood showed a man entering and leaving the area on a black bike. In an interview with ABC News, Mello denied any involvement in Parcell's murder. However, although Mello was confirmed to be in Italy when Parcell was killed and police cleared him of the murder, investigators scrutinized his circle of friends and acquaintances. They believed that the contentious custody dispute between Mello and Parcell provided a motive for her murder. The investigation led police to Michael Manigault, an associate of Mello, who managed some of Mello's affairs in Greenville. While Manigault was quickly ruled out as a suspect, he provided crucial information by mentioning Hughes' connection to Mello. Using a state motor vehicle database, investigators quickly identified a gold Ford truck that belonged to Hughes. They then searched images captured by a roadside Flock camera, which reads and photographs license plates, and discovered that on the day of Parcell's murder, Hughes' truck was captured with a black bike in the truck bed that matched the bike filmed near the crime scene. Authorities then obtained a DNA sample from Hughes that matched DNA found underneath Parcell's fingernails. Hughes was arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He pleaded not guilty. Hughes took the stand at his February trial and testified that he killed Parcell after he became convinced that she was a prostitute, a drug addict and a danger to her child -- accusations made by Mello that were never substantiated. "There was no evidence that suggested that Christina was a prostitute or drug dealer or escort," investigator Jarrad Sparkman told "20/20." Although he never met Parcell, Hughes testified that he believed her daughter was not safe in her custody and that he needed to act. "I realized that this was just the only way to save a child," Hughes said. During his testimony, Hughes made claims that Parcell's daughter was being sexually abused by both Parcell and Post -- allegations the judge ruled were irrelevant and not admissible at his trial. The judge reprimanded Hughes, who was later held in contempt of court. Investigators told "20/20" it's important to note that nobody knew of the allegations against Post until after Parcell was murdered. Hughes' defense team sought to argue that the killing did not constitute murder because there was "no malice in Zack's heart." Prosecutors, meanwhile, portrayed the crime as a cold-blooded murder that was carefully planned. Hughes testified that Mello offered him $5,000 and later $10,000 to kill Parcell out of fear for his daughter's safety -- money Hughes claimed he turned down. When ABC News reached out to Mello regarding the alleged offer of payment, Mello responded, "It never happened." Jurors took fewer than three hours to reach a guilty verdict. Hughes was soon sentenced to life in prison. The day before the verdict, police arrested Mello and charged him with accessory before the fact to a felony and solicitation to commit a felony in connection with Parcell's death. Hughes said he plans to appeal his conviction. Meanwhile, both Mello and Post remain in custody at the Greenville County Detention Center, awaiting their respective trials. Neither has entered a plea. "20/20" reached out to Mello's attorney, but Mello declined to answer questions and says he looks forward to his day in court. In an exclusive interview with ABC News, juror David Collins said Hughes "had many, many ways to save a child if he felt she was in danger" that didn't leave Parcell dead. "He was trying to play God and he was trying to play the judge and he was trying to play the executor. It was his law and no one else's law. And I believe that he took the law in his own hands, and he didn't give another human being a chance to explain themselves," Collins said. "There was no sense of remorse."
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Yahoo
‘It's not fair': Residents rattled after the death of 5-year-old in Greenville County shooting
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — An Upstate community is mourning the death of child who was died in a shooting on Friday. According to deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office, the shooting took place at the Belle Meade Apartments on Fleetwood Drive around 5:30 p.m. The violence has rattled residents and shaken their sense of safety. The apartment complex entrance is now a memorial filled with balloons, flowers and stuffed animals, mourning 5-year-old Brite Acoy, who was killed in the shooting. 'This is a nice place to raise your children — what are we to think?,' a nearby neighbor, Arabia McMahan asked. 'I am afraid. I have never been more afraid in my life. I have been here five years, I have never had to fear for my sons safety.' Brite's twin brother remains in the hospital in critical condition. The child and another person were injured in the shooting. 'Can you just imagine as a 5-year-old what you are doing, what you are thinking?' McMahan said. 'You're supposed to be happy, carefree, you know what I'm saying. You are coloring. You are just oblivious to the BS.' Several neighbors said many children constantly run and play at the apartment complex, but on Friday, many were left running for their lives. 'The next thing you know — we are all running back into our apartments because they are still shooting,' McMahan recalled. 'Y'all are still shooting. Y'all did not stop. You did not stop. You had time to think about it. You looked at us and you kept shooting.' McMahan said children are left scared following the shooting. 'My son does not want to go near any open windows,' McMahan said. 'He wants the blinds closed. He can't be in any room by himself. He is everywhere that I am at. If anything falls on the floor or the neighbor drops something, he flinches in his sleep. He is scared.' On Monday, investigators with the sheriff's office were at the scene, still searching for answers. Community members are crying out for justice as well. 'That's all we have been talking about is how afraid we are because some of these animals are still on the street and yes I said animals because if you can just shoot out in the open and you don't care about anybody or nothing — you are an animal,' McMahan said. Three arrests have been made in connection to the shooting. Investigators have charged 31-year-old Shawnteza Sherman with murder and two counts of attempted murder, a 16-year-old faces similar charges as well as a weapons charge and another juvenile has been charged with a weapons-related offense. Neighbors nearby said the shooting was uncalled for. McMahan said she is dealing with the aftermath of witnessing the tragedy. She said students, many of whom are in elementary school, are speaking with counselors. Some children are still too shaken up to eat. 'I am a mother,' McMahan said. 'I am hurt. I am pissed. I have been crying. I am pissed again. I can't do my homework. I am a full-time student. I am a full-time mother. You know what I'm saying. Everybody is not on that. We are really trying to make a living for our children. It's not fair — don't come here with that.' The sheriff's office is still investigating the shooting at this time. It is unclear if deputies are looking for any additional suspects. If you have any information regarding the shooting, officials ask that you contact Crime Stoppers of Greenville at (864) 23-CRIME. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Yahoo
Missing endangered man reported in Greenville Co.
GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – The Greenville County Sheriff's Office is requesting help finding an endangered man in Greenville County. 29-year-old Tanner Scott Phillips was last seen in the Jesse Ct in Taylors. Tanner is described by officers as a white male standing at 5'11'. Tanner was reported to have been seen leaving the area in a 2018 Toyota Tacoma, Officers said that Tanner is in need of immediate medical attention, and ask for anyone who sees Tanner or know his location to call 911 immediately. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
