The former town manager of Atlantic Beach was arrested Thursday– three months after he allegedly threatened a man outside his town hall office.
State Law Enforcement Division agents arrested Benny Webb and charged him with 3rd Degree assault and battery. He was booked at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
The case stems from a January 21 incident in which a Myrtle Beach resident Paul Curry– a constant vocal critic of the town’s government– said he was confronted by Webb while Curry was at the town hall requesting public documents under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
According to Curry, who was wearing an audio recorder at the time, Webb grabbed him and threatened to “knock the living s— out of you.” After Curry responded, “Well you know that’s a threat of assault,” Webb replied, “No… that’s a promise.”
After the incident, Myrtle Beach TV station WBTW spoke to Webb. In that interview, Webb defended his actions. He said Curry was hardly an innocent victim and that Curry had been harassing his office on a daily basis for months with unreasonable requests. Webb also said Curry refused to fill out a FOIA form.
Webb was acting as interim manager of Atlantic Beach at the time. He has since moved back to his home in Sumter and is a Democratic candidate for the Sumter County Sheriff.
The Atlantic Beach Police turned the case over to SLED since it involved a town official.
