NATION: Poll shows voters are split about illegal immigration A3 REGION Loggerhead turtles beat 50-year goal for recovery TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 | Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894 75 cents A6 Ex-Shaw commander faces child porn charges BY RICK CARPENTER Fighter Wing vice com- A preliminary hearing is proven guilty by a court of signed him to the Ninth [email protected] mander. The charges in- scheduled for Aug. 8 to law,” said Col. Stephen Air Force. The charges this clude possession of child conduct an inquiry into the Jost, 20th Fighter Wing week were the first infor- On June 29, charges were pornography and obstruc- matter. commander. mation The Sumter Item preferred against Col. Wil- tion of justice in violation “The charges are being Jost relieved Jones of his has received since that de- liam R. Jones, Headquar- of Uniform Code of Mili- worked through the legal position as 20th Fighter motion. The Sumter Item ters Ninth Air Force Depu- tary Justice Article 134, ac- process outlined in the Wing vice commander in will provide more informa- JONES ty Chief of Safety, previ- cording to a news release UCMJ, and Col. Jones is February based “on a loss tion as it becomes avail- ously assigned as the 20th from Shaw Air Force Base. presumed innocent until of confidence” and reas- able. 90 firefighters respond to blaze Sumter Casket Co. buildings destroyed in 5-alarm incident BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY [email protected] About 90 firefighters from multiple agencies battled a five-alarm fire for more than five hours Monday afternoon at Sumter Casket Co. The fire destroyed two buildings owned by the com- pany at 209 S. Magnolia St. The casket wholesaler was founded in 1894, making it one of the oldest continuously op- erating businesses in Sumter County. As of 6:30 p.m. Monday, the fire was under control, but firefighters were anticipating battling hot spots late into the evening at the 30,000-square- foot complex, said Ken Bell, spokesman for Sumter County Sheriff’s Office who was asked to provide public information for the fire department. Agencies that responded in- PHOTOS BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY / THE SUMTER ITEM cluded Sumter Fire Depart- Firefighters battled a five-alarm fire at Sumter Casket Co. for more than five hours on Monday. The fire left two buildings destroyed. ment, Shaw Air Force Base Fire Department, Columbia he said. Fire Department, Clarendon The call came in at 12:42 Business has been County Fire Department and p.m., and firefighters respond- Camden Fire Department. ed within minutes, said Brian Some fire departments also ac- Christmas, division chief for in area since 1894 tivated a mutual aid agreement Sumter Fire Department. to provide backup support in Christmas said two build- BY IVY MOORE case other fires broke out in ings were on fire when fire- [email protected] the Sumter area while Sum- fighters arrived on the scene, ter’s resources were exhausted. with one of the buildings com- Sumter Casket Co. was established in Firefighters fought the fire pletely engulfed. 1894 by Eugene Luther Witherspoon from each side of the complex, He said the electricity was and his brother, H.L. Witherspoon, as including from atop the new immediately shut down, as Witherspoon Brothers and Co. In the Lafayette Drive bridge, where there were several power lines early 1900s, they were joined by J.T. firefighters could direct water next to the buildings. James Sr., and the business is still run resources to specific areas. Christmas said firefighters by the James family. The company is No injuries were reported, also sprayed several large pro- the second-oldest in Sumter. Bell said. pane tanks next to the build- James Sr. moved to Sumter from Bur- The company employs eight ing to keep them cool. lington, North Carolina, where he people, and some were in the building when the fire began, SEE FIRE, PAGE A7 Firefighters from five agencies responded Monday afternoon. SEE HISTORY, PAGE A7 Military veteran in homeless Police: Man who shelter wants to give back killed 3 wanted to BY JIM HILLEY stories [email protected] of his past and ambush officers Wayne served in Iran dur- how ing the Desert Storm conflict those BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A former Ma- as a member of an airborne glory rine dressed in black and carrying extra am- infantry unit. Wayne, a guest days live munition set out to ambush police in Baton at the United Ministries emer- vividly Rouge, authorities said Monday, a day after gency shelter now preparing in his three law enforcement officers were killed in to leave, has visited countries mind. He the attack. many have only seen on TV. has spoken with Kinley many The gunman’s “movements, his direction, his He has lived a military ca- times about his military past, attention was on police officers,” state police reer most would be proud of, and Kinley said he can only Col. Mike Edmonson said. He would not elabo- but life’s circumstances still imagine how humbling it rate but said the shooter was definitely “seek- led him to the shelter. must be to go from the glory THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ing out” police. Shelter Director Travis Kin- days into the valleys of life. Millville, New Jersey, Police Chaplain Bob Os- Three other officers were wounded Sunday, ley said if you sit down and The valleys of life can contain sler prays and weeps with a local resident as one critically. The gunman was identified as talk to him, you can see in his she places flowers on a memorial at the B- eyes the way he relives the SEE CARING, PAGE A7 Quik gas station on Monday in Baton Rouge. SEE AMBUSH, PAGE A7 VISIT US ONLINE AT DEATHS, B5 WEATHER, A10 INSIDE Martha W. Nedd Annette Baker STORMS POSSIBLE 2 SECTIONS, 18 PAGES the .com Alberta G. Peoples Ruby P. Gladden VOL. 121, NO. 231 Clouds and sun with Dorothy K. Reynolds Thomas A. Hightower Classifieds B7 Opinion A8 Patsy L. Dickerson Eartherline D. Robinson a storm today; more showers or storms tonight Comics B6 Television A9 HIGH 92, LOW 72 A2 | TUESDAY, JULY 19, 2016 THE SUMTER ITEM Call: (803) 774-1226 | E-mail: [email protected] Man exchanges gunfire with security guards Suspect crashes car into lodge BY JIM HILLEY [email protected] Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting incident early Sunday which led to the sus- pect crashing into the building of Hillcrest Masonic Lodge 397 on Frier- son Road. According to a sheriff’s office re- RICK CARPENTER / THE SUMTER ITEM port, deputies responded about 2:40 A shooting suspect on Sunday a.m. to a reported shooting at a club crashed a 2012 Chevrolet Impala in the 3800 block of Broad Street. The into the building of Hillcrest incident began when a man was argu- Masonic Lodge 397 on Frierson ing with a woman in the parking lot Road with such impact, it lodged and she drove away, the report said. this brick in a wall 20 feet away The man, 41, then tried to enter the from the crash site. club, but two security guards turned him away. The man then went to his vehicle and retrieved a weapon, according to the report. He approached the securi- ty guards, who again told him he could not enter the club. The man PHOTO PROVIDED then allegedly put the weapon to the chest of one of the security guards and pulled the trigger. eral times as he ran. The man was cated at the intersection of Stamey tion at the crash site Monday, said the However, the security guard’s body reportedly shot at least three times Livestock and Frierson roads. crash caused significant damage to armor stopped the bullet, and he was but managed to drive away. Several Law enforcement and EMS crews the inside of the lodge and that the uninjured, the report said. other vehicles in the parking lot were responded, and they extracted the crash caused debris to shoot across Sumter County Sheriff’s Office hit by gunfire. man from his vehicle and transport- the lodge and even sent a brick flying Public Information Officer Ken Bell A few minutes later, the man’s ve- ed him to Palmetto Health Tuomey, so fast it lodged in the side of a wall. A said the security officer was badly hicle passed another car at a high where he underwent surgery. He is visual inspection of the inside of the bruised but otherwise uninjured. rate of speed on Stamey Livestock listed in stable condition. The sus- building showed the crash caused “The vest definitely saved his life,” Road, the report said. Witnesses in pect’s identity has not been released, damage to at least two rooms with Bell said. the other vehicle said they discov- but the sheriff’s office said the man bricks and concrete blocks scattered The two guards returned fire as he ered the man’s vehicle had traveled will be charged when he is released throughout the rooms. Davis said he fled to his vehicle, a silver 2012 Chev- across Frierson Road and crashed from the hospital. doesn't have an estimate of the dam- rolet Impala, firing his weapon sev- into the Hillcrest Masonic Lodge, lo- Dan Davis, a lodge member on loca- age. LOCAL BRIEF Judge: Jurors for Roof trial to come from Charleston FROM STAFF REPORTS City council to vote on CHARLESTON (AP) — A for the 22-year-old Roof be- can’t be found locally and ing of information from men- federal jury selected from gins Nov.