TheSunNews.com: Breaking News

Father accused of hitting his son with a drill

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:31 EDT

A 50-year-old Myrtle Beach man was arrested and charged after allegedly hitting his 16-year-old son on the head with an electric drill, according to a police report.

Charles Florchak was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to the report filed by the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

The teenager was in the living room watching television about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday when Florchak allegedly entered the room and started yelling at him.

Woman wets herself during shoplifting arrest

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:29 EDT

A 25-year-old Myrtle Beach woman who was arrested and charged with shoplifting urinated on the ground and was transported to the hospital after claiming she was having a seizure.

Krystal Lynn McMillan was detained by an employee at Ulta Cosmetics in Myrtle Beach, after McMillan allegedly put cosmetic testers and other makeup in her purse about 5 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Myrtle Beach Police Department report.

The incident was captured on surveillance video.

Myrtle Beach man slashed with beer bottle in cigarette dispute

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:28 EDT

A Pizza Place owner was injured after giving two of his employees a ride home after their shift at about 12:05 a.m. Wednesday.

The victim was standing in the parking lot of the Willow Run apartment complex on Greens Boulevard in Myrtle Beach when three males approached him.

One of the males asked if the victim had a cigarette and when he said "No," the victim was hit in the face with a beer bottle, according to a police report filed with the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

8-year-old SC girl shot twice in head, killed

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:22 EDT

A man put an 8-year-old girl in a headlock Wednesday and shot her to death, then shot himself in the stomach, authorities said.

The girl's father is dating Ricky Lee Blackwell's estranged wife. Spartanburg County deputies said Blackwell shot the girl twice in the driveway of a home where he had taken her and his estranged wife to swim and play. The home is in Chesnee, about 60 miles southwest of Charlotte, N.C.

Several adults and children saw the shooting and pointed officers toward Blackwell, investigators said.

Seaweed invasion adds to woes of SC shrimpers

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:22 EDT

It seemed a good year was shaping up for South Carolina shrimpers with fuel prices down from last season and plentiful rain to carry shrimp out of their nursery grounds along the shore. But then came the seaweed invasion.

Blooms of two types of invasive seaweed for six weeks from May to mid-June tangled shrimpers' nets, costing them time, fuel, labor and much of their catch.

"I've been doing this since 1970 and I've never seen it before in my life - nothing like this," said Wayne Magwood, a Mount Pleasant shrimper who is president of the South Carolina shrimpers association.

Sex faked, but arrests were real

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:08 EDT

It was only faked sex, performed on a Myrtle Beach pier by a group of student filmmakers. But the performance landed eight artists in jail for 12 hours, got their mug shots flashed around the Internet, and may ultimately turn them into folk heroes.

The affair began last week when the students, all either currently enrolled in or recent graduates of the N.C. School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, were shooting a scene for their comedy "Beach Week," one of the arrested told the online watchdog site thesmokinggun.com.

As they filmed, a nearby motel manager flagged down Myrtle Beach police officers to report indecent exposure on the pier, reported to him by a passing grandmother, according to police reports. The officers saw one male actor in his boxer shorts, and a female actor crouching in front of him, reports said, but no one observed any nudity.

Study: Tourists' interest in Myrtle Beach area rises

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:58 EDT

Interest in visiting Myrtle Beach has risen in the past two months and an extended marketing campaign aimed at attracting visitors is working, according to research released this morning by the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

But one leading local economist cautioned the region is not out of the economic doldrums yet, noting that retail sales in Horry County during the summer months could be off at least 12 percent compared to last year.

``That's not the kind of news the chamber of commerce wants to be having economists coming in to talk about,'' said Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University. ``If in fact that is the reality, the local industry, they need to be aware of that and they need to figure out how to deal with that.''

Police catch man suspected of robbing 84-year-old

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:53 EDT

Myrtle Beach Police have in custody a man who is accused of tying up and robbing an 84-year-old woman.

Police found Lawrence Christian Sheedy this morning and he is at the jail, said Capt. David Knipes, with the Myrtle Beach Police Department.

Sheedy has been wanted since June, when police issued warrants for charges including first-degree burglary, kidnapping, armed robbery and possession of a knife during the commission of a violent crime.

Polls say it's time Sanford resigns

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:37 EDT

Jeff Neipp of Greenwood campaigned for Mark Sanford during both of the Republican’s races for governor.

Now, Neipp wants Sanford — caught in a scandal after disappearing from the country to secretly visit his lover — to resign.

“He left our state without any chain of command,” Neipp said. “That is totally unacceptable. I would like to see him resign with some dignity left. But if that’s not possible, he needs to be impeached.”

Third robbery suspect arrested

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 10:04 EDT

Horry County Police have arrested a third suspect in connection with a June armed robbery at a Mexican grocery store.

Akiem Cooper, 19, has been charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. He lives in the Myrtle Beach section of Horry County and is in custody at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center, according to a statement released today by Sgt. Robert Kegler, with Horry County Police Department.

Police captured Cooper at about 2:20 p.m. Wednesday on Marshfield Circle in the Myrtle Beach section of Horry County after an anonymous tip.

SC man charged for fireworks blast that hurt teen

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:56 EDT

A 22-year-old South Carolina man has been charged after a bundle of more than 100 sparklers exploded, causing a teen to lose his hand and severely injure his legs.

Multiple media outlets reported Thursday that Robert Stephen Spicer of Easley faces up to five years in prison on a felony charge of making an incendiary device.

Authorities say the explosion happened July 2 when more than 100 sparklers were tied together and were ignited.

Folks voice praise, concern over ACC's decision to pull baseball tournament

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:48 EDT

Myrtle Beach area residents and visitors voiced their opinions on the ACC's decision to pull its baseball tournament out of Myrtle Beach.

Please wait while video loads...

Attendance up at SC Confederate, military museum

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:06 EDT

The South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum says it has seen a 24 percent increase in visitors from the last fiscal year.

Museum officials say attendance from July 2008 to last June was 22,000 people - more than double what the attraction was pulling in before moving into its new building near downtown Columbia five years ago.

Museum Director Allen Roberson credits his workers for the increased attendance, saying they have created engaging exhibits and been more effective with marketing and advertising.

Reports | Clerk tells police juvenile stole beer from store

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:21 EDT

Shoplifting | On July 8 in Carolina Forest area, an employee at a convenience store said a male juvenile entered the store and walked straight towards the back to the beer isle, grabbed a 24-pack of Bud Light and a 24-pack of Budweiser, walked around the other side of the isle and out the door. The employee said something to him but did not pursue him due to store policy. A customer said he followed the juvenile toward a nearby motel and saw him get into a car and drive away. The customer got his tag number and gave it to police. The responding officer ran the tags, got an address and sent another officer to look for the vehicle.

Harassment | On July 7 in the Myrtle Beach area, a convenience store employee said an unknown male came into the store and stole a pack of Fabulous Fortune $2 lottery tickets that she had left on the counter. The tickets had not been activated. The employee said she needed a police report so the ticket company would not charge the store. . A copy of the store’s video was given to police and turned in as evidence.

Stolen golf cart | On July 7 in the Garden City area, a Johnsonville woman said an unknown suspect stole her golf cart, which was valued at $3,500. She parked it, went to the pier and went back to find it missing. She said she had the key with her, and she gave the officer the serial number on it. The officer looked for the golf cart in the area but could not find it, had dispatch put out a “be on the lookout” for it and registered it in the national crime information computer.

Thunderstorms, rain in today's forecast

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:07 EDT

Restaurant inspections: How do they stack up?

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 11:27 EDT

Department of Health and Environmental Control food inspectors spend at least an hour in each business they inspect and use a 42-item, 100-point checklist.

An A grade is 88-100, a B is 78-87, and a C is 70-77. Follow-up inspections are conducted as necessary. Thirteen priority items, when found deficient, must be corrected within 10 days.

In Horry and Georgetown counties, routine inspections, noted with an R, are unannounced.