Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009

Police | Pair faces charges related to 6 robberies

Police

Horry County

Man killed in mo-ped crash identified

The identity of a 36-year-old Conway man, who died in a mo-ped crash, was released Friday morning after an autopsy was performed, Horry County Coroner Robert Edge said.

Christopher James Goins was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash from internal injuries, Edge said. An autopsy, conducted Friday morning at Grand Strand Regional Medical Center, showed Goins died from injuries he suffered when his mo-ped struck a retaining wall and he tumbled over the guardrail to the ground at the S.C. 22 ramp onto U.S. 17, Edge said.

The fall was estimated to be 35 to 40 feet and the incident occurred about 7:50 p.m. Friday.

There was no evidence another vehicle was involved in the incident, said Cpl. Paul Brouthers with the S.C. Highway Patrol.

Myrtle Beach

Woman awakened by intruder in motel

A woman from Ontario told Myrtle Beach police that she woke in her motel room to see an unknown man in the room, according to a police report.

The 58-year-old woman told police she was sleeping in the room at the Mystic Sea Motel when she woke up at 10:20 p.m. Thursday to see a man in the room, police said. The woman said the man left the room and she got up and locked the door and called a hotel employee.

A couple who are staying with the woman were at the hotel's hot tub and the 56-year-old told police her purse was missing from the room, according to the report. The woman's purse contained cash, credit cards and her passport.

The woman said the room's door was left slightly open and the man took the purse from a table near the door, according to the report.

Horry County

Pair faces charges related to 6 robberies

Two Hemingway residents were arrested by Horry County police on charges related to six armed robberies at various hotels and stores in the county, Horry County police Sgt. Robert Kegler said.

Joshua Lee Causey, 27, and Holly Marie Griffin, 32, were arrested Friday on charges related to the robberies, Kegler said.

Causey is in the custody of the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office and charged with six counts of armed robbery. He is awaiting extradition to Horry County, Kegler said. Griffin is charged with six counts of accessory after the fact of a felony and is jailed at J. Reuben Long Detention Center.

The couple was arrested at their Hemingway home after Horry County police, Georgetown County deputies and U.S. Marshals went there because Causey was identified as a suspect, Kegler said.

The charges stemmed from robberies that occurred in the county that included one at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday where a man went to the Country Inn and Suites at 3516 Waccamaw Blvd., Myrtle Beach and brandished a handgun demanding money, Kegler said.

Aynor

Convicted killer to have relief hearing

An Aynor man who was tried and found guilty of the 2006 murder of his girlfriend is appearing Monday at the Horry County Courthouse in Conway for a post conviction relief hearing, according to officials with the attorney general's office.

Edwin Cornelius was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole in June of 2008 after he was found guilty of fatally stabbing his girlfriend, Natalia Holmes, on May 18, 2006, outside Carolina Forest High School as he was dropping her off that morning.

Local

Conway

Debate on Tuesday for council candidates

A town hall debate with candidates for Conway City Council is set for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Whittemore Park Middle School on Wright Boulevard at Rhue Street.

Council incumbents Randy Alford, Irby Koon and Jean Timbes, along with challenger William Goldfinch IV, have agreed to participate in the debate, according to JR-12, which organized the event.

Candidates will discuss their platforms and answer audience questions during the event.