Child sexual abuse charges

Thomas Clinton Lockridge, 27, of Lexington, faces 2 charges connected to the sexual exploitation of minors.

Investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) which led them to Lockridge. Investigators state Lockridge distributed multiple files of child sexual abuse material, formerly called child pornography.

Lockridge was arrested on Dec. 29, 2020. He is charged with 2 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor 2nd degree, a felony offense punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment on each count.

This case will be prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

West Columbia man arrested on sex charges

The West Columbia Police Department has arrested a man in connection with sexually exploiting a minor.

Aaron Brazier, 38, has been charged with 3rd-degree sex/sexual exploitation of a minor.

Brazier was taken into custody on December 31, 2020.

He is being held on a $50,000 bond.

Man arrested in Cayce murders

The Cayce Department of Public Safety has arrested and charged Israel S. Porter, 21, of Columbia, with 2 counts of murder and 1 count of attempted murder.

Porter was already in custody on an unrelated matter in Richland County when he was served with the City’s arrest warrants. He will remain in custody at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center without bond.

Cayce Department of Public Safety Director, Byron Snellgrove, stated, “No parent should have to experience the death of their child. The families and friends of Isiah Bailey and Khajari Brown deserve answers and they deserve to see justice served.”

Cayce DPS officers believe there may be members of the community that have information about the deaths of Bailey and Brown. We are encouraging those citizens to come forward, even with what may seem to be minor details, as they could be important to fully adjudicating this violent criminal act.

If you have more information to provide about this case, please call Sgt. Cal Thomas directly at 803-550- 9533.

Michigan man faces gun, drug charges

Lexington County deputies have arrested and charged a Detroit man they encountered while arresting another man Saturday.

Derek Deonta Brown, 35, is charged with trafficking heroin, trafficking meth and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to arrest warrants.

“Deputies were trying to find a man wanted on a bench warrant Saturday,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “They went to the wanted man’s house in the 100 block of Sandhurst Road and he invited them inside.”

Deputies saw Brown sitting in the living room near a crystal substance and drug paraphernalia, according to Koon.

“Investigators got a search warrant and later found a gun under the couch on which Brown was sitting,” Koon said. “They also recovered about 13 grams of heroin and about 14 grams of meth.”

Brown was arrested at the Sandhurst Road home. He has since been released from the Lexington County Detention Center after meeting the conditions of his bond.