IN SPORTS: Talented returning starters have USC Sumter baseball team hopeful B1 SCIENCE Masterminds spawn bat robot that may overtake drones A5 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents 14 arrested for drug trafficking of Sumter; MORE ONLINE Ongoing operation resulted from 2014 shootings • Jeffery Dewayne Sanders, 31, of Sumter; Mugshots at theitem.com. BY ADRIENNE SARVIS from Sumter this week for al- • Domonique Keshawn Din- • Sherman Cornelius Sand- [email protected] legedly conspiring to traffic gle, 20, of Sumter; ers, 38, of Sumter; crack cocaine in the Midlands • Dennis Jermaine Fortune • Donnie Eugene Scarbor- ute crack cocaine. The office of District of Co- area. Jr., 28, of Sumter; ough, 47, of Sumter; The arrests are a continua- lumbia Attorney Beth Drake, Those arrested are: • Deshon Jaray Goodman, • O’Brian Anthony Spann, tion of an ongoing investiga- unsealed an indictment on • Shane Marcus Black, 28, 23, of Sumter; 31, of Sumter; and tion into an illegal organiza- Thursday announcing that of Sumter; • Peter Gilbert Jr., 26, of • Corey Jason Stukes, 37, of tion called “Tha Movement.” the Columbia Violent Gang • Kevin Darnell Bradley, 46, Wedgefield; Sumter. During a press conference Task Force, assisted by Sum- of Sumter; • Cedric O’Neal Hilton, 32, Each individual is charged ter Police Department, arrest- • Donald Sherman Bush, 46, of Sumter; with drug trafficking and con- ed and charged 14 individuals of Sumter; • Marcus Antoine Lane, 35, spiracy to possess and distrib- SEE DRUG, PAGE A7 Caregivers at Swan Lake-Iris Gardens MELANIE SMITH / THE SUMTER ITEM A mother duck, above, keeps a close eye on her new babies at Swan Lake-Iris Gardens. An Australian black swan, top right, leads her cygnets to the feeder at Swan Lake-Iris Gar- dens. The facility is the only public park in the United States to feature all eight swan species. An Australian black swan, bottom right, completes her nest with twigs and sticks. Ac- cording to actionwildlife.org, both swan parents incubate about five to eight eggs for almost 40 days on mounded nests made from grasses and reeds. Planners unveil Coordinator sees growing designs for Shot partnerships from count of Pouch Greenway homeless in tri-county area BY JIM HILLEY BY BRUCE MILLS profit organization provides [email protected] [email protected] various services to people ex- periencing at least a spell of The design for the Shot Pouch Greenway An annual homeless count homelessness in a 12-county is coming into better focus after consultants conducted in Sumter County region, which in- from Alta Planning & Design spent several is complete, and the regional cludes Sumter days talking to the public, property owners PHOTO PROVIDED coordinator of the process County. and public officials about how to build the A rendering of the Shot Pouch Greenway shows said the event not only The federally project. where bicyclists and pedestrians will be able to achieved an accurate count mandated annual Funded by the Local Option Sales Tax, cross a Sumter road. but also increased awareness PIT Count is an better known as the “penny sales tax” and developed potential part- unduplicated passed by voters in 2015, the plan is to build cepts for adding a designated walking and nerships to curb homeless- WORMSLEY census of people a greenway for bicycles and pedestrians biking lane on North Wise Drive where it ness issues in the area. experiencing along Shot Pouch Branch. The trail would crosses U.S. Highway 378, and adding land- Dennis Wormsley, director homelessness on a given night stretch from Swan Lake-Iris Gardens at the scaped islands where the trail would Cross of Any Length Recovery Com- in January in each county in south end to Dillon Park on the north end. A Broad Street, Miller Road and Liberty munity — an alcohol and drug the U.S. portion of the trail between Broad Street Street. He said planners had received ap- rehabilitation center in Sum- This year’s PIT Count was and Guignard Drive already exists. proval from the South Carolina Depart- ter — also served this year as based on the night of Jan. 25 “We want to make the community more ment of Transportation to add the islands, the regional Point-In-Time and surveyors asked the vibrant for residents and visitors,” said Count coordinator for the Landscape Architect Blake Sanders. Eastern Carolina Homeless- Thursday evening, Sanders unveiled con- SEE DESIGNS, PAGE A7 ness Organization. The non- SEE COUNT, PAGE A7 VISIT US ONLINE AT CONTACT US DEATHS, B5 WEATHER, A12 INSIDE Information: 774-1200 Vernese W. Lowery Mary S. Tennant OVERCAST 2 SECTIONS, 22 PAGES the .com Advertising: 774-1246 Lillie Mae P. Frazier Geneva M. Montgomery VOL. 122, NO. 80 Classifieds: 774-1234 Cooler with a chance of a Evelena Miller-Williams Belphine B. James morning shower. Tonight, Classifieds B6 Delivery: 774-1258 Sam Scott Tommie Robinson clearing and colder. Comics A10 News and Sports: 774-1226 Joseph V. McKnight Carrie B. Temoney Rev. Marie M. Young Frank R. Powell HIGH 51, LOW 30 Opinion A11 Television A8, A9 A2 | FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2017 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Unsealed Wateree Shooting Range opens Tuesday records shed Facility will allow public light on Roof’s BY JIM HILLEY [email protected] mental state Shotgun enthusiasts have a new op- tion to practice their shooting skills be- CHARLESTON (AP) — Doc- ginning Tuesday when South Carolina uments unsealed in federal Department of Natural Resources court reveal new details about opens the Wateree Shooting Range to the mental health of convicted the general public for the first time. Charleston church shooter The range is located north of High- Dylann Roof, including a py- way 378 and 1.9 miles west of the Wa- chiatrist’s finding that his dis- teree River in what was previously orders make it hard for him to the privately owned Indigo Shooting focus, interact with others or Club. express emotion. The public range will be open from Roof’s psychiatric records 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sat- remain sealed, as do the tran- urday, said SCDNR Capt. Billy Down- scripts from two er. competency hear- Downer said work is continuing on ings that were the rifle and pistol portions of the closed to the pub- range, which will open at a later date. lic over objec- Work on the clubhouse continues, he tions by media said. organizations, in- “We are in the middle of renovating cluding The As- the clubhouse,” he said. “It should be ROOF sociated Press. finished in May.” But other in- A temporary structure is being used formation unsealed this week to check in customers until the club- describes Roof’s mental state, house reopens, Downer said. a topic the 22-year-old defen- The facility will eventually include a dant tried to keep out of his 100-yard rifle range with side berms, sentencing after insisting on back berms and baffles, he said, with a representing himself. 16-station rifle range and a 25-yard Quoting from a psychia- 18-station pistol range. All facilities trist’s testimony during one of will meet National Rifle Association those hearings, his lawyers standards, he said. wrote “the defendant suffers Target clays are purchased using a from ‘Social Anxiety Disorder, card system, Downers said. Customers a Mixed Substance Abuse Dis- must have a debit or credit card to use order, a Schizoid Personality the system. Clays are $5 for 25. ITEM FILE PHOTO Disorder, depression by histo- After purchasing clays, customers Matt Blankenship watches his son Matthew shoot at skeet launched at the former pri- ry, and a possible Autistic will be given a card that can be loaded vately owned Indigo Shooting Club, which is now the Wateree Shooting Range. Spectrum Disorder.’” into machines at the shooting sites, al- Some of the other trade- lowing the clays to be launched. Downer said it is a very challenging Staff will be on hand at the range marks of those disorders, ac- The sporting clay course, which in- course, with a unique feature called while it is open, Downer said. cording to the filings, are anxi- volves customers following a trail to the “Boyd Tower,” where targets are For more information, call range ety about unknown outcomes, shoot targets, includes a total of 50 launched from on old transmission manager Richie Boykin at (803) 240- a tendency to become over- clays. tower. 7368. whelmed and trouble retain- ing information. Roof’s “high IQ,” his attor- neys wrote, is “compromised by a significant discrepancy between his ability to compre- Baker named Sumter YMCA’s Humanitarian of the Year hend and to process informa- tion and a poor working mem- BY ADRIENNE SARVIS ing him how to shoot free use your talent, you should ory.” [email protected] throws may have been a teach others, he said. Because of this, his attor- simple task for the coach, Baker said he has always neys asked that the judge Bobby Baker, longtime but it meant a lot to him be- enjoyed basketball more allow for frequent courtroom youth basketball coach, cause Baker took the extra than other sports because it breaks, longer times for lunch was named 2016 Humani- time to work with someone is the ultimate team sport. recess and perhaps even a day tarian of the Year during who may have needed the It teaches unity and how or two off from court per Sumter YMCA’s annual most help. “It was that you to respect your teammates, week. The motion also noted “Mission in Action” lun- believed I could be better,” he said.