Retiring solicitor says replacement needed

BEAUFORT

Gov. Mark Sanford has not appointed anyone to replace the retiring lead prosecutor of the state’s only five-county judicial circuit, and officials here say that is leaving law enforcement in limbo.

Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor Randolph Murdaugh, 66, announced in October that he would retire Dec. 31.

Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer said an interim replacement, who would serve until the November general election, likely won’t be appointed until after Christmas.

The solicitor serves as lead prosecutor for Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton and Jasper counties.

Murdaugh said the delay is impeding the processes of turning over key cases, including a capital murder case set to go to trial in February.

ROCK HILL

• Man sentenced in child porn case

A Lancaster man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for possession of child pornography and aiding and abetting the creation of child porn.

Mark Eric Spies, 46, pleaded guilty to the child pornography charges after prosecutors agreed not to charge him with conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced Tuesday.

Brian Tod Schellenberger, of Cary, N.C., who has been sentenced to 100 years on child pornography charges, had told investigators he tried to hire Spies to kill his wife.

But prosecutors decided not to charge Spies, saying it would be too difficult to prove he participated in the scheme. Prosecutors said Schellenberger offered Spies a copy of his pornography collection if Spies would kill Schellenberger’s wife. But Dean Eichelberger, assistant U.S. Attorney for South Carolina, said the date on which Schellenberger anticipated his wife would be killed passed.

Police discovered images of child pornography on Spies’ computer and evidence of file sharing between the two men, who prosecutors say never met in person.

Schellenberger was sentenced in federal court in North Carolina on charges of making child pornography and attempting to have his wife murdered. He collected more than 100,000 pornographic images over 15 years and made at least 380 images, testimony showed.

GREENVILLE

• Lawsuit challenges ambulance purchases

A self-appointed citizen watchdog has sued Greenville County Council over the way it purchased two ambulances.

The suit filed by Edward Sloan says the county failed to follow its own procedures when it didn’t solicit bids for the ambulances or go through the process of explaining why sealed bids were the best course of action.

Greenville County attorney Mark Tollison said Tuesday he needed to review the case before making a comment.

In November 2005, county officials issued a request for proposals to buy two ambulances. In the suit, Sloan asks for a copy of the written determination that allowed the proposals to be used instead of bids for the purchase.

Contributing: The Associated Press

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