Sheriff: Foul play is suspected in the death of a missing Winnsboro man
WINNSBORO – The body of a missing Winnsboro man has been found by his family, according to Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery.
Gabriel Deshawn Brisbon, 22, was found in a mobile home on
Hwy 321 near Peach Road sometime Friday, according to Montgomery.
The cause of death is not known.
The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office and Brisbon’s family
have been searching for Brisbon, who was last seen on Jan. 31 at the Winfield
West Apartments in Winnsboro. His car was found on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at the
Creekside Apartments.
This is a developing story and more information will be posted
as it becomes available.
WINNSBORO – Qualex Manufacturing, LLC opened operation in Fairfield County in the summer of 2019 and is already announcing plans to expand, creating at least 60 new jobs.
“Since that time, the group has been very successful and
specifically has developed a strong labor pool of welders and metal
fabricators, Qualex prides itself on its work environment,” Fairfield County
Economic Director Ty Davenport told The Voice recently. The Georgetown,
Kentucky based company focuses on sheet metal fabrication and it supplies
materials to the nearby Trane Manufacturing facility.
“With its recent success in Fairfield County, the group has
announced an expansion project that will include a $2 Million investment which
will create 60 new jobs. Individuals interested in joining Qualex
Manufacturing, LLC team should contact NESCO Resources at 803-233-7001for
additional information.
WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office seeks information concerning the whereabouts of Gabriel Deshawn Brisbon, 22.
Brisbon was last seen at Winnfield West Apartments in Winnsboro on Sunday, January 31 at approximately 4:00 p.m. He was driving a 2010 Grey 4-door Honda Accord, which was located in Columbia.
Brisbon is a black male, 6’3″ and about 300 lbs. He has a low haircut and a medium-length beard.
Anyone who has any information concerning Gabriel Dehsawn Brisbon is asked to call the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office at 803-635-4141 or call crime stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
Bell, Greene, Roseborough vote in favor to make it happen
WINNSBORO – Following an executive session Monday night to discuss and receive
legal advice regarding the county administrator’s contract, council voted 4 – 3
to renew County Administrator Jason Taylor’s contract, but for only five
months.
Taylor
Councilman Mikel Trapp made the motion to renew the contract until June 30, 2021, end of the fiscal year. Councilwoman Shirley Greene seconded the motion.
“I think we need to give Mr. Taylor a longer time – a year,”
Councilman Douglas Pauley said. “Mr. Taylor has done a great job, and we’ve
been moving Fairfield County forward, so I would like to see it at least for a
year.”
“I have to agree Mr. Pauley,” Councilman Neil Robinson said.
“We should at least give him a year for evaluation if that’s what the new
council members want.”
“As a new council person, I think that basically, we’ve got
to have a chance to work with Mr. Taylor,” Greene said. “We’ve taken a look at
some of the legal ramifications and some of the legal points have been made,
and giving us the chance to work with Mr. Taylor and to be able to evaluate him
the way it should be done, and having some relationship with him and his work
is basically what I see as a new council person.”
Green, Council Chair Moses Bell, Trapp and new councilman Tim Roseborough voted ‘for’ the five-months of employment. Councilman Clarence Gilbert, Pauley and Robinson voted ‘against.’
A source told The Voice that the terms of the extension of
the contract were not discussed with Gilbert, Pauley and Robinson in executive
session, rather Bell asked the attorney to review Taylor’s previous evaluation,
but nothing was discussed or disclosed regarding extending his contract or
limiting his employment, the source said.
“It was a surprise to the three of us when Mr. Trapp made
the motion to renew the contract for only five months,” Robinson said.
Rumors had been circulating through the county for the last week that Taylor would be placed on administrative leave Monday night, but that rumor did not materialize.
When The Voice asked Bell for a comment following the vote,
he said, “No comoment,” several times before walking away.
“I’m totally disappointed in this,” Gilbert told The Voice
following the meeting. “Mr. Taylor has done so much for this county. He’s the
ultimate professional, easy to work with, honest. He has such vision for our
county. Why would we want to turn back our progress at this point? I would hate
to think it’s a personal vendetta. But it was planned. There was no substantive
discussion about it,” he said.
Taylor was hired in May, 2016, with a contract for $120,000
each year for a three-year term.
In July, 2018, council voted unanimously to extend Taylor’s
contract for another year and also voted to increase the period of compensation
for Taylor in the event of termination without cause to two years. Council
members also approved a 3.44 percent pay raise, increasing Taylor’s salary from
$123,997.60 to $129,297.52.
Billy Smith, council chair at that time, praised Taylor’s
performance, saying, “Jason, I think you’re doing a great job.”
Taylor came to Fairfield County from Jasper County, where he
was previously the town administrator for Ridgeland since 2002.
He also spent eight years with the S.C. Department of Social
Services and four years as Saluda County’s economic development director.
County Council Chairman Neil Robinson recently credited
Taylor for guiding the council’s directives to fruition over the last four
years.
“While much was accomplished in 2019 in Fairfield County,”
Robinson was quoted in an end of year story in The Voice, “despite the ensuing
pandemic and all the associated challenges, 2020 was a phenomenal year in
Fairfield County for economic development, jobs, infrastructure and a laundry
list of other accomplishments.
Praising Taylor for his work to turn the county around, Robinson
said, “His vision and knowledge of where we should be and how we get there
surprises me every day. In the last four years we’ve brought more than 1,000
jobs, six new industries and $70 million in investment. We’ve accomplished more
this year and last year than we have in the previous ten.”
This story which first appeared online on Tuesday, Jan. 26, has been updated.
WINNSBORO – A Winnsboro woman was arrested last week for
assault.
Belton
Chabria M. Belton, 26, was charged in a drive-by shooting at the Evans Knoll apartments on West Moultrie Street in Winnsboro. No one was injured in the incident, according to the responding officer’s report, but a bullet hit a car traveling down West Moultrie, causing a tire to blow out.
The incident started when a witness reported someone in a
gray Kia turning into the Evans Knoll apartments about 3:48 p.m., on Thursday,
Jan. 14, with someone brandishing a gun from the driver’s side window, then
shooting down W. Moultrie Street in the direction of the Town Hall Annex.
As officers were collecting over a dozen shell casings in
the apartment building parking lot, a Winnsboro resident who had returned to
her home after driving down West Moultrie, discovered that her front left
fender had a bullet hole and her front left tire was blown out and reported it
to the Winnsboro Public Safety Department.
A resident at the Evans Knoll apartment recognized the Kia
as a vehicle that belonged to someone in the apartments, sources said. Officers
spotted the car later that day and took Belton into custody.
Belton was released from the detention center on a $10,000
bond.
“This was a totally senseless act, discharging a firearm
into a populated area with cars passing by. It was a very dangerous situation,”
WDPS Chief John Seibles said. “We have to do a better job getting guns out of
the hands of young folks. They’re carrying guns illegally and seem to have no
regard for life. I want them to know that we are going to step up our game to
stop this and protect our citizens. Someone reckless and foolish like this can
take someone’s life.” he said.
CHESTER – The Chester County Sheriff’s Office, Chester
Police Department, and Midlands Crimestoppers are seeking assistance in locating
Robert Lamont Brown.
Brown
Brown is wanted for attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, felon in possession of a firearm, and three counts of unlawful neglect. These charges are stemming from a shooting incident that occurred on May 16, 2020 at the Chester Heights II apartment complex located in Chester.
Brown is also wanted for failure to register as a sex offender
in the county of Chester. He is considered armed and dangerous.
A cash reward up to a $1,000 is being offered for any tip
that leads to an arrest. Submit an anonymous tip via mobile app (download the P3
tips app), web (www.CrimeSC.com and click
Submit a Tip) or phone (toll free number at 1-888-CRIME-SC (888-274-6372).
The Internal Revenue Service issued a new ruling last week
to clarify that small businesses receiving Paycheck Protection Program loans in
2020 may still deduct their payroll and other normal business expenses, even if
the expenses were covered by a forgivable loan.
The IRS’ new guidance repealed its interpretation from May
2020 that disallowed the deductions. Its
new rule was forced by an act of Congress in the December stimulus bill, where
Congress reiterated that it did not intend for PPP loans to be taxed.
Brett Wesner, National Newspaper Association chair, said the
new guidance would remove a threat to small business viability created by IRS
last year.
“Many Members of Congress were irritated by Treasury
Department’s refusal to change its policy, even though the law under the
original CARES Act clearly prohibited a tax on the PPP funds,” Wesner said. “It is too bad that it took until the end of
the year to fix the problem because many small businesses have overpaid their
quarterly taxes and will now have to wait to get that money back. But Congress did finally straighten it out
and NNA is grateful that a number of members of Congress, including Senators
John Thune, R-South Dakota; Charles Grassley, R-Iowa; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Ron
Wyden, D-Oregon; and Tom Carper, D-Delaware, got out in front of this problem
early last summer and stuck with the repeal until it got done.”
A copy of the new ruling can be found at:
https://www.nna.org/pub/doc/final-IRS-guidance-1.7.21.pdf
WINNSBORO – Fairfield County’s 2020 delinquent tax notices
will make their first appearance inside next week’s issue of The Voice. If you
forgot to pay your property taxes, or if you’re hoping to get a good deal
because someone else forgot, you can find the listing of properties in next
week’s paper.
Property owners with outstanding bills will have this chance
to make good with the Tax Man. But on Monday, Feb. 1, the auctioneer takes
over.
That’s when prospective buyers will have the opportunity to
bid at the County Courthouse on properties whose owners did not pay their
outstanding taxes. Winning bidders will see their money go into an escrow
account where it will earn interest for one year. Delinquent property owners
will have that year to come up with those back taxes. If they do, the winning
bidder keeps the interest. If not, the winning bidder becomes the new property
owner.
Notices will appear in the Jan. 14, 21 and 28 issues of The
Voice.
WINNSBORO – The Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office is seeking
assistance in locating Jacob Trimayne Anderson, 27, of Winnsboro. Anderson is
currently wanted on a warrant for Attempted Murder in connection with a
shooting incident that occurred in the early hours of Saturday, Dec. 19.
On that morning just before 2 a.m., deputies from the sheriff’s office were dispatched for a shooting incident to Old Chester Road near Highway 200. Once on the scene, deputies learned there had been a physical altercation outside a club, and a 30 year-old black male was transported to the Providence ER with multiple gunshot wounds, officials said.
Anderson is wanted in connection with this shooting. To
provide information on Anderson’s location, contact the Fairfield County
Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIMESC (888-274-6372) or visit
midlandscrimestoppers.com to email a tip. Your identity will be kept anonymous.
CHESTER – A December 6 deadline came and went without
indicted former Chester County Sheriff Alex Underwood and two former deputies
to accept a plea agreement offered by the U.S. Department of Justice on the
federal charges all three were indicted on.
Alex Underwood
Originally, the defendants had until Nov. 6 to accept the government’s offer of a plea deal and receive credit for “accepting responsibility” for the charges they were indicted on in the case of United States v. Underwood, et al. Attorneys for all three defendants had asked for a 20-day extension of the original deadline, each claiming a different reason as to why they were requesting an extension on accepting the plea deal offered by the government.
Federal Judge J. Michelle Childs gave the defendants Alex
Underwood, Johnny Neal and Robert Sprouse 30 days to accept the plea deal,
until December 6th.
The three all face federal charges related to the arrest of
Fort Lawn resident Kevin Simpson in November of 2018. Indictments for
Underwood, Sprouse and Neal in connection with the Simpson arrest ranged from
creating a false incident report, to violating Simpson’s rights and causing him
bodily injury, evidence tampering and lying to federal investigators.
There are also corruption charges that stem from allegations
that Underwood, Sprouse and Neal used their positions as law enforcement
officers to intimidate others, took “family members on trips (while) charging
the cost to the sheriff’s office,” directed “payments for contracted security
detail services through a particular sheriff’s office bank account to avoid tax
payment,” used “sheriff’s office employees to conduct manual labor that
personally benefitted…Underwood while the employees were actively working for
the sheriff’s office” and “establishing a climate of fear within the sheriff’s
office to direct and secure obedience among subordinates.”
A superseding indictment issued in September added
additional charges of wire fraud and corruption to those already being faced by
Underwood and Neal.
According to Danielle M. Nichols, Deputy Spokesperson in the
Office of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Justice, none of the
defendants accepted the plea deal offered by the government.
There will be a status hearing by telephone on December 17,
a hearing on motions on January 4 and the trial date is set for February 1,
2021.
Attorneys for all three defendants were contacted for a
statement but none was received by press time.
