news in brief

Old Frink Street pedestrian fatality

A pedestrian was struck and killed by a motor vehicle Feb. 19, around 7 pm, in the 2300 block of Old Frink Street in Cayce.

Terry R. Sparks, 58, was walking in the roadway when he was struck by a motor vehicle, according to Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher.

Sparks was transported to an area hospital and pronounced dead a short time later due to his injuries.

The driver of the vehicle, who was not injured, stopped at the scene to render aide.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol is investigating.

Irmo man arrested in shooting

An Irmo man is charged with attempted murder in the Feb. 21 shooting of a woman in Lexington.

Joseph Randolph Henry, 28, is also charged with possessing a firearm during a violent crime, according to arrest warrants.

“Detectives interviewed several witnesses who voluntarily told them Henry threatened to kill the victim as they rode in a car [together] on Augusta Road,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.

“Henry was one of four people in the car at the time of the shooting, including the victim, another passenger and a man who was driving.”

After the shooting, Henry fled from the car after it stopped in the Fellowship Baptist Church parking lot at 4238 Augusta Rd.

“Deputies detained Henry a short time later just down the block from where he got out of the car and transported him to the Lexington County Detention Center,” Koon said.

Henry was denied bond at his hearing last Friday.

Nearby Oak Grove Elementary School was placed on lockout for about 20 minutes last Thursday morning while deputies investigated the incident.

The lockout was lifted around 8:45 am, according to district officials, after authorities determined there was no threat to the school.

3 schools on lockdown Monday

Meadow Glen Elementary, Meadow Glen Middle, and Northside Christian Academy were placed on temporary lock down Monday afternoon.

The Lexington Police Department assisted the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department with a traffic stop where two male subjects fled near the schools. Both subjects were quickly found by officers and placed under arrest. The schools reopened shortly after the arrests.

Red Bank church assault, burglary

Lexington County deputies have arrested a West Columbia man in connection with a Feb. 18 assault during a church burglary.

James Douglas Drayton, 20, is charged with first degree assault and second degree burglary, according to arrest warrants.

“Drayton threw a rock through a glass door at Red Bank United Methodist Church early [last] Monday morning and went inside to find items to steal,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said.

“That’s when he was interrupted by a church employee coming in for work.”

Drayton then struck the employee in the face, according to Koon.

“The woman suffered some facial injuries and was treated on the scene by EMS,” Koon said.

Drayton is being held in the Lexington County Detention Center after a judge denied bond last Tuesday morning.