01/28/2025
On January 13, 2025, Chief Justice John Kittredge swore me in to my third term as your Solicitor. I am honored to serve the citizens of Edgefield, Lexington, McCormick, and Saluda Counties. Under my leadership, the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office will continue to fight for victims of crime and to keep our communities safe.
Our office places a special focus on prosecuting violent crimes, such as murder, homicide by child abuse, and felony DUI’s. Our conviction rate at trial on these cases is one of the highest in South Carolina. As Solicitor, I have continued taking an active role in prosecuting violent offenders. In one nine-month period, from 2022 to 2023, I worked to obtain ten murder convictions. These challenging cases included the three teenagers who kidnapped a fifteen-year old female in Richland County and brutally murdered her in the Batesburg-Leesville area, and a popular restaurant owner who murdered his wife’s lover in the Town of Lexington. More recently, during the fall of 2024, I led the prosecution of the three men responsible for the 2022 Easter weekend shootout at the Columbiana Mall that injured nine innocent bystanders. All three were convicted for their respective roles in the shootings.
In addition, this office is a leader in efficient docket reduction, and does so without compromising our goal of protecting the rights of victims. Four years ago, the COVID pandemic had a tremendous impact on our judicial system. Courts throughout the state were shut down, and criminal dockets grew dramatically. Despite these challenges, our office was able to adjust how we normally operated to ensure we were still protecting our communities from criminal offenders. When courts re-opened, our office was ready. The hardworking and dedicated men and women of this office quickly addressed our backlog, and did so without sacrificing justice. Today, the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office is one of the most efficient in South Carolina. In fact, we are often the only circuit in South Carolina that has counties meeting the Supreme Court’s docket reduction benchmarks.
During the next four years, our office will continue to support the men and women in law enforcement. We are grateful for the strong partnerships we have developed with Sheriff Jody Roland of Edgefield County, Sheriff Jay Koon of Lexington County, Sheriff Chad Cox of McCormick County, Sheriff Josh Price of Saluda County, and all our chiefs and law enforcement leaders. We could not do our jobs without their hard work and cooperation.
Our office has had many accomplishments under my leadership, but we are working hard to do even more for the citizens of the Eleventh Circuit. I am grateful for the support and trust you have continued to give to our office and me. I am truly honored to be your Solicitor.
