February 4, 2012

DMV worker admits creating fraudulent licenses

A Florence woman who worked for the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of issuing a fraudulent commercial drivers license (CDL).

40-year-old Brenda Poston faces a five-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Poston worked as a customer service representative at the Florence DMV office when proseuctors say she admitted falsely entering information into a state database saying that a certain person had passed the written and driving skills tests required for the license when, in fact, they had not taken the test at all. She also admitted giving the person a fraudulent social security number in order for them to get the license.

Although Thursday’s plea was only for one license, a grand jury had originally indicted her on fraudulently obtaining five licenses. The DMV says it has since revoked those licenses.

Charleston sheriff admits slapping suspect after high-speed chase

Charleston County Sheriff Al Cannon said a rush of emotions caused him to slap a handcuffed suspect after a 25-mile police chase.

Shawn McManus was arrested after he tried to flee from his vehicle after the high-speed chase from Mount Pleasant to Awendaw.  Cannon said the chase started after McManus committed a traffic violation. Deputies say they reached speeds of 120 miles per hour during their pursuit.

In a written statement, Cannon said he walked up to the handcuffed McManus after the latter had been arrested. Cannon said he angrily asked, “What the (expletive) is wrong with you?!” to which McManus replied “Ain’t nothing wrong with me, man.” The sheriff said he then slapped McManus and said “You could have killed a lot of people.”

Cannon said he has reported his actions to the State Law Enforcement Division. SLED was already investigating the incident because deputies shot at McManus’s tires during the chase. State law requires the agency to step in any time an officer fires a gun.

Cannon said he is prepared to accept the consequences of his actions.

House panel advances texting and driving ban

Rep. Don Bowen (R-Anderson)

A House panel advanced a bill Wednesday that would ban texting while driving in South Carolina.

There have been several attempts to do this over the past two years, but each has been unsuccessful. Rep. Don Bowen (R-Anderson), who led one of those efforts in 2010, says he’s confident the bill can pass this year because there is now statistical data showing more highway deaths due to texting than those due to driving while intoxicated.

The transportation subcommittee unanimously voted to give the bill a favorable report Wednesday. No one in attendance spoke against the legislation, either. It now heads to the full Education and Public Works Committee.

The bill would charge a $100 fine and put two points on the driving record of a person who is caught. However, if the distraction causes a fatal accident, the driver could face at least a $5,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.

“We hope that will be a deterrent and make people stop (texting) without having to enforce it,” Bowen told South Carolina Radio Network.

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Army Corps explains how it will save time on Charleston deepening study

This Army Corps of Engineers graphic shows how containers ships have gotten longer, wider, and larger in the past 30 years

Trying to speed up a study needed before the deepening of the Charleston Harbor can begin, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) met last week with local harbor pilots to determine part of the study’s focus.

The harbor pilots were brought in because they know the river channels as well as anyone else, according to ACE’s Charleston District commander Col. Edward Chamberlayne.

“Instead of going through a list of hundreds of alternatives to consider, which would make our feasibility study longer, they would really narrow it down to the most productive and most feasible alternatives,” he said. “It would make the most bang for our buck.”

The Corps has partnered with the State Ports Authority to help pay the estimated $20 million the feasibility study will cost. Port officials say the channel needs to be deepened to 50 feet in order to handle the new, larger ships that will begin arriving along the East Coast once the Panama Canal expansion is complete in 2014. The overall project is expected to cost around $300 million.

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Panel: Keep traffic cameras illegal

The South Carolina Traffic Enforcement Commission has recommended that the state continue its ban on using cameras to catch speeders. Lawmakers created the commission and banned the cameras after Ridgeland police began using them to catch speeders on Interstate 95.

The law bans using cameras to issue speeding tickets based on photographic evidence.

The Beaufort Gazette reports the commission made its recommendation to continue the ban earlier this month. The commission report says the state does not have enough judges to handle all of the cases that would be created if local governments began using the cameras.

The commission says only the state Department of Public Safety should ever be allowed to use the cameras.

The panel consisted of several legislators, Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal, and several representatives from the South Carolina Sheriffs Association and other law enforcement groups.