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BLYTHEWOOD – Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigators are investigating a deadly shooting that occurred at the 100 block of Haygood Road this afternoon.

On Monday, Sept. 15, 2025, just before 5 p.m., deputies responded to the 100 block of Haygood Road in reference to a shooting. When deputies arrived, they located an adult female victim dead on scene and an adult male victim with gunshot wounds to the upper body.

The male victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The suspect(s) fled prior to deputies’ arrival, according to a report from the Sheriff’s office.

If you have information regarding this incident, call RCSD at (803)576-3000 or submit a tip anonymously through CrimeStoppers.

This investigation is ongoing.

BLYTHEWOOD – The traffic pattern on Blythewood Road will change starting the morning of Friday, Sept. 12.

According to Assistant Program Manager for SCDOT Brooks Bickley, one half of the traffic circle is nearing completion and crews will begin construction of the final half after the lane shifts.

“We’ll be shifting the traffic temporarily towards Cobblestone after Thursday night,” he said. “This will be the last traffic change before we go to the final traffic circle arrangement.”

Bickley said the traffic circle is expected to be completed by late fall.

FAIRFIELD COUNTY – For the second year in a row, Field & Stream has cancelled its fall Music Fest, according to a statement posted on Field & Stream’s Instagram account.

The festival, scheduled for October, was to feature Miranda Lambert, Riley Green, Eric Church, and others.

 “Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, Field & Stream Music Fest has been canceled,” the statement read. “The refund process will commence immediately and will cover all Field & Stream purchases tied to your order, including tickets, upgrades, camping, parking, add-ons, taxes, and fees.”

Fairfield Chamber of Commerce President Dillon Pullen said pulling the event will impact many of Fairfield’s businesses who were preparing for the thousands of visitors that were expected to attend the festival.

“While we are certainly disappointed that the Field & Stream Music Fest has been cancelled in Fairfield County, we remain proud of our community and all that it has to offer,” Pullen said. “We recognize that the cancellation is a setback for many local businesses that were planning to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who would have been visiting the county for the event. Our Chamber remains committed to supporting these businesses and to highlighting Fairfield County as a welcoming destination for future events and visitors.”

WINNSBORO – Three suspects in the Lake Wateree homicide have been arrested, according to Fairfield County Sheriff Will Montgomery.

On Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025, the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of shots fired at a residence located at 1868 Durham Place Road in the Lake Wateree area of Fairfield County.

Upon arrival, deputies entered the home and discovered one female unresponsive and another female suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip.

The investigation determined that three males were present when an argument broke out. During the altercation, one suspect produced a handgun and shot one of the female victims in the neck. The same suspect then shot a second female in the hip before fleeing the scene with the other two men.

The female victim, identified as Laporsha Jasma Farr, 37 of Lanier St in Spartanburg, succumbed to her injuries at the scene, while the second female was transported to Prisma Health Richland and remains in stable condition.

Over the next two days, Benny Grady and William Mack were taken into custody without incident. After a 3-hour stand-off in Greenville County, the murder suspect, Jerry Jones, was taken into custody.

By Aug. 14, 2025, all three suspects were in custody.

Sheriff Will Montgomery stated, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this case and I am grateful for a swift resolution to this devastating crime.” He also expressed his gratitude to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, the City of Greenville and Greer Police Department for their assistance, as well as to the brave citizens of Fairfield County who came forward to help investigators uncover the facts in this case.

Arrests and Charges:

Jerry L. Jones, 41, Perry Avenue, Greenville, SC – Murder, Attempted Murder, Possession of a Weapon During a Violent Crime

Benny L. Grady – Accessory After the Fact

William E. Mack – Accessory After the Fact

This investigation remains ongoing. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

WINNSBORO – Two consecutive drive-by shootings that occurred in daytime at the intersection of 4th Street and Columbia Road have residents in the area fearful for their safety.

The first incident occurred just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6, when the occupants of two cars  – one gray and the other white – shot at each other. While the suspects had left the scene before officers arrived, shattered glass and several 40-caliber shell casings were found on the pavement at the scene.

Three days later, at the same location, at about 3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, the occupants of two cars began shooting at each other as a man entered one of the cars at the intersection. Noting the shattered back window of one of the cars – a gray KIA – an eye witness said that vehicle appeared to be the same gray car involved in the Aug. 6 shootout.

The alleged suspects were described as black males wearing Covid masks.

The incidents are being investigated by both the Winnsboro Department of Public Safety and the Fairfield County Sheriff’s Office.

BLYTHEWOOD – On Aug. 8, at approximately 12:15 p.m., the Richland County Special Response Team assisted the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration), with a warrant on Crimson Queen Dr., in Blythewood’s Cobblestone Park neighborhood, according to the Richland County Public Information Office.

A photo of the incident shows a Special Response vehicle and several officers with guns at the front door of a home. There were unconfirmed reports of drones overhead, but a spokesperson for DEA, the investigating agency, would not release any information on the incident, saying only that it was a court authorized law enforcement activity.

The spokesperson said there were no arrests made at that location.

“I don’t know anything that’s in the public realm, yet,” the spokesperson said. “When it does enter the public realm, I’m happy to circle back with you.”

COLUMBIA – With 15,000 followers on Facebook, Will Rowe – maybe better known as Will’s Weather – has made a name for himself in the weather world. And the budding meteorologist just announced another addition to his resume: Weekend Meteorologist.

“The moment you have all been waiting for,” Will posted on Facebook on Sunday. “I have accepted the Weekend Meteorologist position at WACH FOX 57 here in Columbia! I am extremely grateful for the opportunity, and I’m excited to work with them!”

In a 2023 interview with The Voice, then-17-year-old Rowe said he had an interest in watching weather forecast videos since he was in preschool – and, after watching weather forecasts on television with his grandmother, would play at being a weather man with an old road map and a dry erase marker.

It was a visit to a local news station that opened his eyes to the world of video, he says – and he chose that as his next direction.

“At that point, I had no intention of doing anything TV-related; I simply wanted to do the science and research meteorology,” Will says, “but seeing all the cameras and all that, I just thought, ‘Hey, this is pretty cool, I can set this up,’ so I just got a camera, a green screen, got a computer, and got it going.”

It was in the spring of 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, that he began making his own forecast videos and posting them on social media.

Over five years later, Rowe is now studying Operational Meteorology at Mississippi State University and Geographic Information Systems at the University of South Carolina. Rowe says he expects to graduate from both institutions by or before May 2026.

BLYTHEWOOD – New traffic patterns will be put in place on Monday, Aug. 11 that town officials say will have a temporary but significant impact on Blythewood Road and Community Road traffic.

“From an impact perspective, two things are going to be happening,” Interim Town Administrator Ed Driggers said during the July 28 town council meeting. “Scout Motors is at the stage that they will be bringing in newly hired employees at their site, as well as additional contractors. At the same time, in order to expedite the completion of the roundabout on Blythewood Road at Cobblestone Park, Richland County will be running work crews on first, second and third shifts instead of one daytime shift.”

Motorists who use Blythewood Road are asked to use extra caution as traffic will temporary be shifted around the roadwork until Sept. 30.

The most notable change will be a reconfigured traffic pattern at the intersection of Blythewood and Community Roads. The following traffic control measures will be put in place:

On Blythewood Road

Currently, westbound traffic on Blythewood Road that continues through the I-77 intersection curves slightly to the south. This through traffic will be re-routed to the north side of a new roundabout. This pattern is expected to last until the project is complete.

Currently, westbound traffic along Blythewood Road turning left onto Community Road curves slightly south. This pattern is expected to continue until Aug. 29.

Eastbound traffic will continue as currently configured; however, an additional right-turn lane will be added for traffic turning onto Community Road.

On Community Road

While Community Road remains closed to through traffic, a new traffic pattern will allow for Scout Motors-related traffic and traffic en route to Public Storage. From 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. Monday-Friday, there will be two southbound lanes of traffic and one northbound lane. The outside southbound lane will become a right-turn lane for Scout employees and contractors entering the Scout site. Drivers heading to Public Storage should remain in the left southbound lane.

Between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, the Community Road pattern will shift back to a standard one southbound/one northbound lane to allow road upgrades to continue.

From 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, there will be two northbound lanes and one southbound lane. The outside lane is for traffic turning right (east) onto Blythewood Road, while the inside lane is for traffic turning left (west).

After 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and on weekends, the Community Road pattern will shift back to a standard one southbound/one northbound lane to allow road upgrades to continue.

Alternate Routes

While roadwork is ongoing, drivers traveling southbound on University Parkway should take University Village Drive in order to access Blythewood Road. Alternatively, motorists should take Links Crossing Drive to Woodlander Drive, then turn left onto Syrup Mill Road.

With the southern portion of Community Road now closed, drivers should take Wilson Boulevard to Fulmer Road before turning onto Blythewood Road.

The traffic control measures are necessary to complete road-widening projects that also include a double-lane roundabout at the intersection of Blythewood and Community roads, and also at the entrance and exit of Cobblestone Park Golf Club. As part of a separate project involving a new I-77 interchange, contractors with the S.C. Department of Transportation (SCDOT) have partially closed and detoured part of Community Road.

Additionally, Scout Motors is anticipating a scheduled increase in contractors working on its nearby construction site in August. To mitigate impact to the local community, Scout is working with its contractors to schedule deliveries outside of peak traffic hours and delaying a planned shift in the parking location for contractors until after the first week of school.

Following are Transportation Penny upgrades scheduled for the Blythewood Road area:

Crews have begun work to relocate the exit road of University Parkway for the Cobblestone Park gated community near Blythewood Road. This work will continue through Aug. 27. Other detail work on the perimeter of the Blythewood Road roundabout will continue through September.

Around Friday, Aug. 15, crews will begin paving the center of the roundabout at the entrance of Cobblestone Park, shifting traffic. This work will continue through the end of August.

From Sept. 14 to Oct. 1, crews will install concrete islands on Community Road.

Ongoing work to widen the north end of Blythewood Road, including storm drain and drainage structure upgrades, and final paving work are set for completion at the end of September.

While work is ongoing, drivers should expect temporary delays and plan extra time for travel, using alternate routes when possible. Message boards will provide updates for motorists, and crews will be on site directing traffic.

The work on Blythewood Road is scheduled for completion in early October. SCDOT’s I-77 Exit 26 Interchange Project is expected to wrap up by summer 2027. In the meantime, Community Road is scheduled to reopen at the new Exit 26 Interchange in April 2026.

For more information and updates on the roadwork and local traffic patterns, visit www.richlandcountysc.gov. Find out more about SCDOT road projects: https://i77exit26.com/.

BLYTHEWOOD – Blythewood Mayor Sloan Griffin has asked for an attorney general’s opinion as to whether it is permissible to implement a new government structure before his current term ends on November 22, 2027.

Blythewood voters passed a referendum on July 29, calling for the town’s form of government to be changed from a mayor-council form to a council-manager form.

Prior to the referendum, both the mayor and the four council members who called for the referendum agreed to abide by the voters’ will. However, on Aug. 4, Griffin sent an email to the other four council members questioning how South Carolina Code 5-5-60 would affect the outcome of the referendum.

Griffin wrote in his email that S.C. Code 5-5-60 “states that elected officials shall continue to serve until their successors are elected and qualify” under the new form.

But that is not exactly what Section 5-5-60 of the SC Code states. It says: “Upon initial adoption of or on any change to one of the alternate forms of government, all members of the existing governing body shall continue to serve their elected terms and until their successors are elected and qualify.”

“The public notice from the Mayor seeks to delay the implementation of the July 29 referendum that he pledged to uphold, but misquotes section 5-5-60,” said Town Councilman Rich McKenrick. “This section strictly deals with elected officials serving out their term in the event of a change in the form of government. It does not address whether the mayor can continue to govern under the previous form of government until his term is up.”

In his request, Griffin also asks for a formal opinion from the Attorney General “to confirm the lawful timing and scope of implementation under state law.

“I have also requested that the proposed transition be reviewed under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which remains in full effect and prohibits any changes that could have a discriminatory impact on minority voting strength or representation.

“This is not about contesting the election outcome,” Griffin wrote, “but rather about ensuring the transition is carried out legally and according to both the spirit and letter of the law. The voters chose this administration to serve until 2027, and I must uphold the integrity of that term while respecting this democratic process and state law.”

“The mayor’s term is not decreased by the referendum,” said Media Attorney Jay Bender, who represents the S.C. Press Association. “The Voting Rights Act angle seems baseless, because no district lines are being changed. A public official is always free to seek an opinion from the Attorney General on a question of law. That office has capable attorneys who will provide a legal analysis but will not decide disputed facts.”