Latest news with #SpartanburgPolice
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Motorcyclist dies in Spartanburg crash after hitting power pole
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) — A man died after crashing into a power pole in Spartanburg on Saturday night. Officers with the Spartanburg Police Department said they responded to the crash at the intersection of Ammons Road and John B. White Sr. Blvd. around 11 p.m. According to officials, the motorcyclist was traveling east on John B. White Sr. Blvd. toward Crescent Ave. when he lost control of the motorcycle on the curve past Ammons Road and left the road, hitting the pole. The coroner's office identified the man as Fernando Ortiz, 30, of Spartanburg. He was pronounced dead at 11:13 p.m. at the scene of the crash. Ortiz, police said, was wearing a helmet at the time of the wreck. A forensic exam is scheduled for Monday, the coroner's office said. The crash remains under investigation by police and the coroner's office. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Yahoo
Spartanburg Police see uptick in vape shop burglaries
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Multiple investigations are underway in Spartanburg over a string of vape shop burglaries. On September 6, 2024, officers with the Spartanburg Police were called to Sal's Tobacco and Vape Shop after it was broken into. Since then, burglaries at vape shops have become more frequent, according to police. 'What we noticed is we had three [burglaries] in 2024, and 11 this year. Although we have break-ins on a regular basis, this looks like it is a trend for vape shops in particular,' Major Art Littlejohn with the Spartanburg Police said. Out of the 14 burglaries, only two cases had arrests, leaving 12 cases unsolved. 'In some of the cases, they are ramming out the entire wall of the business or the front doors,' Littlejohn said. 'Now we have replace the wall, replace the cabinets that they are being stored in. That's a big expense for our business owners.' Some stores were hit multiple times, such as Sal's Vape Shop. The store had been broken into for a second time on April 18, 2025. Police said surveillance video showed a Chevrolet Suburban ram into the right side of the shop. Two masked individuals entered the store, fired a weapon at the glass cabinets and fled the scene with several items, estimating to cost $20,000 dollars. Suspects stole $20K in products from Spartanburg vape shop 'The reason that we started to look at it and investigate it more closely is that with these vape shops, people are taking stolen cars; they will steal a car, use that car to break into a business, get the items and drop the stolen car back off,' Littlejohn said. 'What we are trying to do is figure out whether or not all the cases are connected, they could be, [or] it could be one or two that is connected, and maybe not all of them.' If you have any information on these cases, you can leave a tip for the Spartanburg Police Department by calling Crimes Stoppers at 1(888) CRIMESC. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Yahoo
Police train for school threats in Spartanburg
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) — Police in Spartanburg are making sure their School Resource Officers (SROs) are ready to respond to any situation. 'We need an SRO to the front office. I'm having a parent that doesn't want to leave,' an officer keyed in over a police radio Friday morning. You never know what the call will be or when it will happen. 'Help!' shouted a man roll playing as a shooting victim. 'Where are they? Where are they?' shouted Lachelle Byrd, Spartanburg Police. In the moments of heightened intensity, police said every second counts. 'The goal is to save lives,' said Major Art Littlejohn, Spartanburg Police. 'Our model always is [that] we are in the life-saving business.' Littlejohn said Spartanburg and Inman Police were honing in on how they handle active shooters, irate parents, and any other possible school threats. 'The SROs, for the kids, they're seen as heroes,' said Littlejohn. 'They're larger than life, but they have a very important job.' That job could mean coming face-to-face with a school threat, alone, while backup arrives. 'You've got to make a decision really, really quickly,' Littlejohn said. 'We say you've got to slow down to go fast because you've got to ask questions. What's really going on here?' 'My main train of thought is to try to get to the target as soon as possible and make sure I take in everything as I'm through,' said Lachelle Byrd, a Spartanburg School Resource Officer. 'Once we get to the threat of whoever is shooting or posing a threat at the school, we have to think about who might be injured in that matter and treat them accordingly.' Byrd was one of the officers training inside Carver Middle School on Friday. 'You have to be able to see whether it's a phone or a gun,' explained one of the police trainers. Police were given a scenario and had to think quickly. The only difference was that officers were using Simunition rounds. 'It's not going to look good if we shoot someone who has a cell phone or a person who is the hostage,' explained Littlejohn. 'So, we have to make those decisions very quickly because the things we do are life or death.' Police said they only train the scenarios a few times a year. They gave 7NEWS a chance to see if we could handle the pressure. 'We are going to run through some scenarios again,' said Littlejohn, as he addressed a group of officers. 'You guys, be gentle.' The truth is, I didn't know how to handle some situations, made some mistakes, did not talk through certain scenarios thoroughly enough, and, at times, was too quick or not quick enough to mitigate the threat. They're all steps police have to take when responding for help. However, the trained professionals knew how to handle it and are now even more ready to answer if a threat in Spartanburg arises. 'It's unfortunate when something like this could happen,' said Byrd. 'But our main priority is to make sure all of the teachers, students, faculty, and everyone inside of that building is safe as well as making sure the threat at hand is taken care of.' According to Education Week, there were at least 39 school shootings in the country last year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
