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Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Yahoo
Scott Spivey case takes dramatic twists two years after deadly Horry County road rage shootout
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — It's been nearly two years since Scott Spivey was killed along on a rural Horry County road following a road rage-induced shootout involving a prominent North Myrtle Beach businessman. Since March, major developments have propelled Spivey's case back into the headlines as revelations of police misconduct and calls for an outside investigation have dominated headlines. Spivey, 33, died Sept. 9, 2023 on Camp Swamp Road outside Longs after his armed confrontation with Buoys on the Boulevard owner Weldon Boyd and Boyd's friend, Kenneth Williams. Police found Spivey dead in his front seat hunched over his center console with a handgun just underneath his hand, the report shows. Local authorities would conclude that Spivey provoked the men and Boyd acted in self-defense. News13 Investigates: Documents offer look into how Horry County authorities handled Scott Spivey case However, about a week later, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson asked the South Carolina Attorney General's Office to review the shooting after Boyd posted a 'thank you' message on Facebook shortly after the shooting. The South Carolina Attorney General's Office in April 2024 declined to prosecute Boyd due to insufficient evidence. Spivey's family two months later sued Boyd. But a trove of evidence handed over to Spivey's sister Jennifer Foley as part of a civil wrongful death suit would turn the case on its head over claims of a botched investigation and cozy ties between Boyd and law enforcement. Here's a look back at events that have unfolded over the past several weeks. Strickland's 20-year Horry County Police Department career ended March 11 when the deputy chief resigned amid a South Carolina Law Enforcement Division probe into policy violations and interference tied to the investigation. A state Criminal Justice Academy document indicated that Strickland 'resigned when advised of a current Internal Affairs investigation regarding policy violations.' It said SLED was contacted and that an investigation was pending. The document submitted to the academy on March 26 by Horry County police also indicates that Strickland is involved in a 'pending criminal matter.' Strickland was the first person contacted by Boyd after the shooting, and quicky reassured him that lead detective Alan Jones was a 'country guy, good ol' boy.' Strickland said he also contacted Richardson and was working 'in the shadows' as Boyd moved through the process. Strickland's attorney Bert von Hermann told News13 each person he called was on duty the night of the shooting and that his involvement did not compromise the police's work. Vescovi had been with the county's police department for 23 years when on April 30 Chief Kris Leonhardt announced his termination as part its ongoing internal affairs review of the Spivey case. HCPD said that it requested a review of the incident last month, and has been cooperating with SLED's investigation of potential misconduct surrounding the case. Officials also said the allegations against Vescovi were revealed in April 'as part of the incident and case review.' Body cam footage provided to SLED by Spivey family attorney Mark Tinsley showed Vescovi writing in a note pad 'act like a victim camera' and showing it to Boyd. Journalist Beth Braden initially made the discovery and alerted Tinsley. Foley said she was disgusted when Tinsley told her. 'You're coaching them what to say and how to act and my brother is sitting dead in a vehicle 30 yards in front of you,' Foley said. In an emotional — and at times angry — 11-minute address to the Horry County Council on May 6, Foley asked Gov. Henry McMaster to appoint a special prosecutor who would review not only the details of what happened on Camp Swamp Road, but the police department's actions in its wake. A majority of the Grand Strand's legislative delegation backed her request in a letter to McMaster. 'We will continue to advocate for Scott's case to be reopened with a thorough investigation by an honest prosecutor who is willing to examine all of the evidence,' Foley said. Horry County Councilman Danny Hardee on Tuesday also urged state Attorney General Alan Wilson to act. 'I don't know what the AG needs,' Hardee said. 'I don't know if he needs you to get on your knees and beg, hug his neck or whatever but my opinion is if the AG doesn't give you an answer or direction, I'd highly advise him not to politic in Horry County.' News13 spoke to McMaster on May 14 at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic tournament and asked him about SLED's role in the case and whether the case has been mishandled. The agency is currently investigating possible misconduct in HCPD, but not Spivey's death. 'I think it certainly raises a lot of questions that need to be answered,' he said. 'People are, people are very interested. It's a frightful situation, a man's dead, and the circumstances, according to the news articles, raise a lot of questions. But that's why we have good law enforcement, and SLED is as good a state law enforcement division as any in the country, probably better.' Three Horry County police officers are facing disciplinary action after an internal affairs investigation turned up more than half a dozen mislabeled videos tied to the Spivey case, Leonhardt said May 14. The footage — seven videos in all — came from dashcams that were rolling when officers responded to Camp Swamp Road. 'Since I've been chief, I've taken every action that I can to personally get the case reviewed, to look at it internally,' Leonhardt said at a news conference. 'I can tell you in the community, they have faith in our department. Folks that can't meet our standard won't work here.' Leonhardt, who was named police chief in October, said a three-person internal affairs unit is working on the Spivey case daily to review 'any type of misconduct or policy violations that we may find on the part of the Horry County Police Department.' He wouldn't disclose what the missing dashcam footage captured but said he acted quickly once officials learned it was misidentified. 'We're going to hold our officers to a high standard,' Leonhardt said. 'If they do not follow policies and procedures, that will be addressed, and I think we've shown that in a short amount of time, that we've reviewed this case. Several folks are no longer employed here.' State Rep. William Bailey, R-Little River, filed a bill that if approved would transfer control of the county's police department to the sheriff's office. Houe Bill 4542 won't get a hearing until next year, but it's sure to generate a heavy amount of input as it moves through the process, Bailey acknowledged. The point is to streamline public safety services to get more officers on the road by eliminating the state's only county-run police department and adding a layer of accountability, Bailey said. 'When you elect someone, when you give them your vote, there's a certain amount of faith you're having in that person,' Bailey said. 'They do not currently have that ability through the current system. It's the council and the administrator that decides who the chief law enforcement officer is going to be.' Councilman Dennis DiSabato called Bailey's proposal a 'publicity stunt'. 'I think there were some bad actors here, and I think we need to investigate who they were and do what we need to do to clear out the bad actors so that we can restore the trust that the people have in the police department,' he said. 'But it is our job to do that, not the state legislature's.' DiSabato called most Horry County police officers 'law-abiding community servants' and says misconduct by some is not reflective of the entire department. Bailey along with state GOP state Rep. Jeffrey Johnson of Conway opted out of the delegation's letter asking McMaster to intervene in the Spivey saga. Bailey said he chose not to sign it because he thinks it would be an obstruction of justice and it's not his job as an elected official to get involved. However, campaign contributions show Boyd's attorney, Kenneth Moss, donated $400 to Bailey's campaign in March 2019. Bailey said he and Moss have a personal relationship because Moss has been his attorney and friend since 2008. Campaign contribution records show Moss and his colleague, Dennis Worley, have contributed a total of $1,400 to Bailey. Some North Myrtle Beach restaurants have also contributed to Bailey's campaign, but records do not specifically name Boyd's restaurant, Buoys on the Boulevard. * * * Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12. See more of his work here. * * * Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook, and X, formerly Twitter. You can also read more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Will Scott Spivey's death be reopened? HCPD's role as county's top law agency under fire
Alleged misconduct in the Horry County Police Department regarding the shooting death investigation of a North Carolina man has spurred conversations about the separation of the county's two law enforcement agencies. Several agencies have been involved in the investigation of the 33-year-old, who was killed nearly two years ago in a roadside shootout between the owner of a North Myrtle Beach restaurant and his friend. There has been confusion over what department is actually the lead investigating agency, which has become an issue as the Spivey family, as well as Horry County and state leaders, have requested the case be reopened as new information has surfaced showing that HCPD officers allegedly mishandled evidence and assisted the shooters. Spivey's sister, Jennifer Foley, asked Horry County Council members to 'demand' state Gov. Henry McMaster appoint a special prosecutor aside from the Attorney General's Office, and nine state legislators sent a letter to the governor's office also asking for the case to be reopened as it is believed that 'the incident was prematurely deemed self-defense.' The Attorney General's Office, as well as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, reviewed HCPD's original investigation of the Sept. 9, 2023, shooting on Camp Swamp Road off of Highway 9 in the Longs area. The AG's Office determined that the shooting by Weldon Boyd and Kenneth 'Bradley' Williams was self-defense. Neither man has been charged. The Horry County Sheriff's Office also has been asked to step in and reopen the death investigation. Such a decision could complicate the case further as the Sheriff's Office and HCPD operate as two independent police agencies – one that answers to the Horry County Council and the other which is an elected position. But ultimately, it would be the appointed prosecutor who would determine what agency would take over the investigation. Such a decision probably will not come until SLED finishes its criminal investigation into alleged misconduct of one of the HCPD officers involved in the shooting case. SLED has previously said that it is not reopening the death investigation and that it was never the lead law enforcement agency, adding the state police agency was only providing assistance to HCPD. A message left for the Attorney General's Office on Thursday was not returned. 'At this point, we have not been asked to assist in any capacity,' according to Horry County Sheriff's spokesperson Brennan Cavanagh by email. Cavanagh said it wouldn't be appropriate 'right now' to say whether Sheriff Phillip Thompson would take on the case if asked. At least five HCPD officers – including one who resigned and another terminated for their roles in the case – have been accused of misconduct. Three officers recently were disciplined after seven videos of officers' dash cam footage from the night of the shooting was discovered. The footage was said to be mislabeled. The involved officers were part of HCPD's internal investigation of the Spivey case. It comes after 90 audio recordings and hundreds of text messages from Boyd, who owns Buoys on the Boulevard, and officer body cam footage showed that Boyd was allegedly getting preferential treatment because of his relationship with officers on the force. Horry County is the only county out of 46 in South Carolina to have a separate county police department. It is considered the primary law enforcement agency in the county. The Horry County Police Commission was formed under the Act 21 of 1959, which allows county councils to determine law enforcement for their county. The state statue was later amended, doing away with the police commission and moving to a county administrator being in charge of the HCPD. Currently, the HCPD reports to the director of public safety, which is responsible for hiring of the police chief, according to a text from Moskov. The director of public safety reports to the county administrator, who is hired by County Council. The police chief hires his own personnel, Moskov said. The Sheriff's Office is operated by Sheriff Phillip Thompson, which is an elected position. The Sheriff's Office handles the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, court security, civil process and serving criminal warrants and tracking registered sex offenders. Sheriff's deputies will step in occasionally to assist in HCPD cases if there is a conflict of interest. Recent examples are accidents involving HCPD officers. S.C. Rep. William Bailey (R-Horry), who is a former police chief and lives in Little River, has authored a bill that would repeal the 1959 Act, eliminating the HCPD and having the Sheriff's Office go back to being the primary law enforcement agency in the county. Bailey said the bill, which would be considered during next year's legislative session, is not based on the Spivey case, but latest developments in the investigation is something to consider. He said merging the departments would be more efficient and provide additional accountability, which he believes would come from the public through the sheriff. 'I look at resources,' Bailey said, '...it's just a very complicated system in Horry County.' The bill follows the letter signed by nine Democrat and Republican representatives from Horry, Dillon and Georgetown counties asking the governor's office to become involved in reopening Spivey's case. The letter cited continued conflicts of interest within the Horry County Police Department. Bailey said conversations about the repeal would have to take place. Bailey said the question is, is it better to 'work for a singular sheriff or 12 council members?' 'In the real world, we know that the county council has the final say over that police chief,' Bailey said.
