NATION Police trauma after school shootings largely unstudied SERVING SOUTH CAROLINA SINCE OCTOBER 15, 1894 Attitudes about asking for, giving THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 75 CENTS help beginning to change A4 $5K offered for info in killing a gunshot wound. have been working to locate a weighs about 160 pounds and Columbia man found dead in Sumter That intersec- Sumter man with whom he has brown hair and brown tion behind the was last seen while they were eyes. near railroad tracks in mid-February railroad tracks is driving Bostic’s car in Colum- Anyone with information in the back of a bia. about Bostic’s killing or Sim- BY KAYLA ROBINS dead near Cooks and South neighborhood off Officers think Matthew mons’ whereabouts is asked to [email protected] streets about 1:15 p.m. on Sat- SIMMONS the intersection of Tyrell Simmons, 27, has infor- call the Sumter Police Depart- urday, Feb. 16, after the McCrays Mill mation that could help in the ment at (803) 436-2700 or Crime Two months after the body 29-year-old’s family had re- Road and South case, McGirt said. He is also Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC. of a Columbia man was found ported him missing earlier Guignard Drive. wanted on a first-degree as- Tips can also be submitted down an embankment from that week, according to Tonyia Police are hopeful a reward sault and battery charge in an to Crime Stoppers by logging railroad tracks in Sumter, a McGirt, public information of- will encourage anyone with unrelated case in the City of onto www.P3tips.com and $5,000 reward is being offered ficer for the Sumter Police De- knowledge of this incident to Sumter. clicking on the “Submit a New for information that can help partment. The Sumter County come forward and help bring According to Bostic’s family, Tip” tab or by downloading arrest the person responsible. Coroner’s Office confirmed an some solace to the family. the two men were friends. the new P3 Tips app for Apple Raphel H. Bostic was found autopsy determined he died of Since Bostic’s death, police Simmons is 5 feet 9 inches, and Android devices. Gun shop burglar gets Piecing history together 7 years in 2016 case Columbia co-defendant pleaded guilty in robbery of firearms from Tony’s BY KAYLA ROBINS [email protected] A Columbia man was sen- tenced to seven years in feder- al prison after pleading guilty to breaking into a Broad Street gun shop in Cherryvale in 2016. Cedrick K. Reddick, 26, took a plea for conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal fire- arms licensee and to being a felon in possession of a fire- arm, according to U.S. Attor- ney Sherri A. Lydon in a news release Thursday. Evidence presented to the court showed Reddick and a co-defendant burglarized the store and stole about 75 hand- guns. Previous reports in The Sumter Item show the store was Tony’s Gun Shop at 4308 Broad St. and that by the time deputies arrived on scene four PHOTOS BY MICAH GREEN / THE SUMTER ITEM minutes after the alarm Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Jack Folley, right, and George Patton “Pat” Waters look at historical artifacts from Fol- sounded, the two had gained ley’s collection of his uncle’s World War II relics. entry by taking the lock off the front door, smashed dis- play cases and fled out the New World War II artifacts at Patton Hall donated with help from front door with bags of weap- ons. Patton’s grandson by Sumter native showcase uncle’s collection It was estimated at the time the stolen firearms were BY BRUCE MILLS across France and Germany at worth a total of about $20,000. [email protected] the end of World War II. The same gun store had been burglarized and robbed Folley and Waters are now in July 2012 when at least two hanks in part to a local friends and live four miles apart men backed a pickup truck to in the Mt. Pleasant area of the door and made off with high school’s recent 50th Charleston County. Given their stolen weapons. class reunion, a part of heritage, they naturally share a The investigation revealed T similarities between the 2016 World War II and U.S. Army common interest in World War II burglary and others of liquor history has been preserved in history. stores in several counties, in- Several years ago, Folley’s Sumter. cluding two in Sumter from George Patton “Pat” Waters, grand- “Uncle John” gave him a box of May 2016, according to Lydon’s Retired U.S. Air Force Col. son of U.S. Army Gen. George S. office. Law enforcement from war artifacts, which the Sumter Jack Folley and George Patton Patton Jr., touches The Charlotte native started going through a Richland County identified Observer’s June 6, 1944, edition Reddick as a suspect after a “Pat” Waters, grandson of U.S. year ago. featuring the invasion of Norman- DNA match linked him to a Army Gen. George S. Patton Jr., He said he spent a few days dy. The ring on his pinky finger was burglary of one of the liquor who successfully commanded looking through the collection, stores. A search warrant at his the Third Army to the end of once worn by his grandfather. apartment also revealed a and the more he looked, the 9mm handgun that had been World War II, spoke Wednesday but they’re linked in history. Fol- more “wowed” he was by it, stolen during the Tony’s Gun at U.S. Army Central headquar- ley’s uncle, John Williford, was a and the more nervous he be- Shop burglary. ters on Shaw Air Force Base, member of the Army’s 35th In- came. Both Reddick and his co-de- which is called Patton Hall. fantry Division in the war, which “I thought, ‘What are we fendant, Jonathan Thompson, Folley and Waters did not were charged federally with was assigned to Patton’s Third the gun store theft. Thompson serve together in the military, Army during its historic push SEE HISTORY, PAGE A6 SEE ROBBERY, PAGE A6 VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B3 WEATHER, A8 INSIDE Barbara M. Bradford Jacob Thames APRIL HEAT 2 SECTIONS, 14 PAGES the .com VOL. 124, NO. 129 Joseph Lee Hart J. Regena Brunson Partly sunny today; Shamur Wells Wallace M. Stokes becoming cloudy tonight Classifieds B6 Sports B1 Rosa Mae Boone Wells Margie Hughes Comics B4 Television B5 Claudia Ann Stoskopf HIGH 83, LOW 66 Opinion A7 A2 | THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2019 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Prisma Health Tuomey Staggers officially named president of Morris awards 2 team members for outstanding care PROVIDED BY PRISMA lind noticed I had lost weight HEALTH TUOMEY HOSPITAL and was concerned about me. Two Prisma Health Tuom- We talked about my diagno- ey Hospital Oncology team sis. I hadn’t been eating and members recently received didn’t have an appetite. She the DAISY Award for out- asked me when my next ap- standing care. Claudia Har- pointment was; she went with vin and Rosalind Boone made me to the doctor to help me a lasting impression on pa- understand the diagnosis and tients, families and fellow the treatment plan. She was PHOTO PROVIDED team members with their with me every step of the way State Rep. David Weeks, D-Sumter, congratulates Dr. Leroy Staggers on April 12 on the stage of the Neal- care and compassion. These and never left me. She pur- Jones Auditorium of Morris College. Faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of Morris College celebrated caregivers con- chased supplies the new leadership of the college with the official Presidential Investiture of Dr. Staggers as the college’s sistently demon- for me while I 10th president. The purpose was given by co-chairman of the Presidential Investiture Committee, Elder J. strate excellence was in the hospi- Elbert Williams, followed by the invocation by Dr. Jamey O. Graham, vice president-at-large of the Baptist and are recog- tal to help me Education and Missionary Convention of South Carolina Inc. State Sen. J. Thomas McElveen III, D-Sumter, nized as role feel more com- spoke first followed by Sumter County Councilman James T. McCain, who announced the proclamation models in the fortable. naming April 12, 2019, Dr. Leroy Staggers Day by Sumter County Council. His long-time friend Dr. Henry N. nursing commu- If it wasn’t for Tisdale, president of Claflin University, offered words of encouragement. The Presidential Charge was given nity. A family HARVIN BOONE Rosalind, I by president and CEO of the United Negro College Fund, Dr. Michael Lomax. Upon receiving his robe, me- member praised wouldn’t have the two nurses had the support I dallion and mace, Staggers said, “My vision for Morris College is to build onto the great achievements of Dr. who went above and beyond needed to get through a diffi- Richardson. I had the blessing and good fortune to sit under Dr. Richardson as dean for 17 years.” The late to assist with their mother’s cult time. Now, after a year of Dr. Luns C. Richardson served as president of Morris for 43 years. He went on to say, “I ask for God’s guid- care. Claudia Harvin took being cancer free, I can cele- ance, I pray for courage, and I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” care of her the last night she brate! To this day, she still fol- was in the hospital.