On Feb. 10, the Winthrop University Police Department was contacted by a Winthrop employee regarding the ongoing harassment of another Winthrop employee by a former Winthrop employee. According to the report, the complainant told WUPD that this ongoing harassment “was making the Victim fear for her safety due to the past incidents” involving the suspect. The suspect is on a trespass notice, which bans him “from the main campus for an indefinite period of time” due to “numerous incidents” that occured while he was employed by the university. According to the report, “the safety of other employees was called into question” as a result of these events. The victim was issued a victim identification form in regards to the incident.
The same suspect was involved in another incident on Feb. 13. A university employee contacted WUPD regarding the suspect harassing another Winthrop employee via email. According to the report, “[t]he complainant further stated that this contact was making the Victim fear for his safety due to the past incidents involving [the suspect] and the Victim.” The victim was issued a victim notification form and the incident report was assigned to interim Asst. Chief Charles Yearta “for further review and investigation.”
On Feb. 17, a sergeant with WUPD was “sitting in the Eden Terrace Lot, which is owned by Winthrop University, watching the intersection of Oakland Avenue and Eden Terrace.” While observing, the sergeant “observed a white in color Kia Soul pass him while displaying an illegal license plate.” The report states that the license plate was paper and displayed hand-written expiration date of “02/11/2020 from Hertz.” The sergeant followed the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle continued driving and made several turns before stopping “in front of the Rutledge Building … facing the wrong way on a one way street.” According to the report, the sergeant detected “a strong odor of marijuana” that was “emanating from the vehicle” while he was speaking with the suspect. The sergeant asked the suspect if there was marijuana in the vehicle to which the suspect replied that she had smoked marijuana in the vehicle about a half hour before that and that there was possibly more in her bookbag. A WUPD officer arrived on scene and the sergeant asked the suspect to step out of the vehicle, after which he “conducted a pat down” of the suspect “on camera.” After the pat down, the sergeant requested to search the vehicle to which the suspect consented. The sergeant asked if she would be willing to undergo a field sobriety test performed by the officer due to her admission that she had recently smoked marijuana and the suspect agreed to the test. Another WUPD officer arrived to assist with the search. While searching the vehicle, WUPD found a bottle of Miller High Life beer that was empty, a six pack of 12 oz. Bud Light cans with two of the cans missing and a “small plastic baggy with a white powdery substance in it.” The powdered substance tested negative for cocaine. According to the report, the suspect initially stated that it was cocaine but later said that it was “old protein powder.” The suspect was placed under arrest for having an open container and was taken to the city jail in Rock Hill. Before entering the jail, the suspect’s bookbag was searched by jail staff who found “a small amount of a white powdery substance in a clear baggy, three straws, and a pink baggy with a white powdery substance” that tested positive for cocaine. Additionally, the jail staff found “another pink baggy that had a glassy white substance that is consistent with methamphetamine” in the suspect’s bookbag. The WUPD sergeant returned to campus where he typed up arrest warrants for the suspect for the drugs that were reportedly in her possession. The sergeant served the arrest warrants to the suspect as well as the citation for the open container. The suspect was advised that she would see a judge regarding bond and a court date.
On Feb. 20, an officer the WUPD was conducting a stationary patrol when a green Jeep was observed “[disregarding] a stop sign.” The officer initiated a traffic stop and was informed by the driver of the vehicle that he did not have a license on him, although he did provide the officer with a name and date of birth. The officer discovered through the SCDMV that the driver has been “indefinitely suspended from driving” due to his failing to pay traffic citations. The officer confirmed that the driver was indeed suspended from driving after which he asked him to step out of the vehicle and placed him under arrest. The suspect was taken to the Rock Hill Law Center for “booking and confinement.”
Graphic: Maggie Claytor/ The Johnsonian
