Irmo Police Chief Bobby Dale announced that 14 individuals have been arrested as part of a multi-agency undercover operation aimed at combating the online sexual exploitation of children. The investigation involved undercover law enforcement officers posing as minors in online conversations with adults seeking to solicit children for sexual activity.Continue Reading
LEXINGTON COUNTY — An Orangeburg man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison following his conviction in a 2022 shooting outside a Harbison Boulevard restaurant. Brandon Rashad Benjamin, 34, was convicted April 3 of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Circuit Court Judge ShawnContinue Reading
LEXINGTON, S.C. – A Columbia man has been charged with murder following a fatal shooting Saturday afternoon. Latif Shi’Yon Elijah Ross, 23, is charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and possession of a weapon by a person prohibited, according to arrest warrants. “Deputies were dispatchedContinue Reading
LEXINGTON, S.C. – Lexington County Sheriff’s Department deputies have arrested a woman accused of stealing and damaging multiple vehicles at a used car dealership. Da’Niyah Shanesse Fulks, 20, is charged with three counts of grand larceny, two counts of breaking into motor vehicles, and one count each of malicious injuryContinue Reading
Richland County Sheriff’s Department points to mobile-phone forensics as “vital asset” in recent homicide-solving successes By W. Thomas Smith Jr. Recent national reports of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s (RCSD) successes in solving 100-percent of all homicide cases (80 murder cases in fact since 2023) beg the question: How? BroadContinue Reading
LEXINGTON, S.C. (January 15, 2026) — The Lexington Police Department is seeking information on the whereabouts of Christian Dominick Long, 33, of Lexington, in connection with a series of thefts from motor vehicles. According to investigators, the incidents occurred during the early morning hours of December 24, 2025, in aContinue Reading
LEXINGTON, S.C. – An anonymous tip from the community helped Lexington County deputies locate and arrest a Batesburg man following a two-day manhunt. Cordell Wyman Clark, 26, was taken into custody Wednesday morning and charged with resisting arrest and failure to stop for a blue light, according to records fromContinue Reading
LEXINGTON, S.C. – A routine traffic stop on Interstate 26 turned into a major drug bust last week after a Lexington County deputy pulled over a vehicle with an expired license plate. Aaron Daryl Maldonado, 31, of Columbia, faces multiple charges including trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, possession of cocaine, marijuana,Continue Reading
Trevor Grant Oty, age 22 of Newberry County, pled guilty to two counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct in the Second Degree, one count of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor in the First Degree, and one count of Criminal Solicitation of a Minor in the First Degree, on Thursday, July 10,Continue Reading
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Malik Jahlil Bell, also known as “Leek Obama,” has been sentenced to nine years in federal prison for his role in a fraud scheme involving bank fraud, money laundering, and illegal firearm possession. Bell, 28, was identified by federal investigators as the ringleader of a group callingContinue Reading
Mark A. Scheibler, age 50, has been sentenced to Life in prison following his conviction in Lexington County for Murder and Possession of a Weapon during commission of a Violent Crime. Judge Walton J. McLeod, IV imposed the sentence following a trial last week in Lexington County General Sessions Court.Continue Reading