I would like to congratulate Judge Hood on his election to the 5th District Circuit Court. This week’s judicial race got interesting between Meadors and Hood. I normally don’t get many constituent’s input in a judge election, but I appreciate the public becoming more involved.
I’ve had some constituents ask me how I came to the conclusion to support Mr. Meadors. His record as a prosecutor is impressive. Below are excerpts from his resume:
From 1991-95, I worked for the SC Attorney General’s Office in the State Grand Jury Division. Under the supervision of (now) Judge Cameron Currie, I was part of a team that prosecuted major drug conspiracies statewide. In addition to presenting evidence to the State Grand Jury and prosecuting the cases, we also handled the civil forfeiture aspect of the cases. During this time, I personally prosecuted numerous cases around the state; including a multi-county drug conspiracy case involving 8 defendants that culminated in a conviction after a three week jury trial in Kershaw County. I also was the lead prosecutor in the second child pornography prosecution and the first money laundering case for the State Grand Jury.
State v. Charles Gambell: The defendant killed his ex-girlfriend and two other individuals at the Colony Apartments in Columbia. The defendant then called a friend who helped him dispose of the bodies in a nearby drainage ditch. The defendant was also charged with Burglary 1st and received four consecutive life sentences.
State v. Maurice Abrams: This was a Sumter County case and was tried in June 2011. The jury convicted the defendant for murder, armed robbery, and possession of a fire arm during the commission of a felony. The case involved co-defendant testimony and the defendant received a sentence of life plus 35 years.
State v. Tobias Lee: A Georgia man killed an elderly victim and stole his car. The defendant was wanted for several armed robberies in Columbia and also wanted in Georgia for murder and rape. The defendant was ultimately captured in Monroe, LA after being featured on America’s Most Wanted.
State v. Vincent Filyaw: The defendant kept a young girl in an underground bunker for ten days and raped her repeatedly. The young victim escaped after law enforcement tracked the text messages that she sent to her mother. The defendant received 421 years imprisonment.
Mr. Hood – Senate: Bright Campbell, Courson, Cromer, Ford, Grooms, Hutto, Knotts, Martin (Shane), Matthews, McGill, Peeler, Rankin, Setzler, Shoopman, Thomas
House: Alexander, Allen, Allison, Anderson, Anthony, Bannister, Barfield, Battle, Bingham, Branham, Brannon, Brown, Brown, Butler Garrick, Chumley, Clemmons, Clyburn, Cole, Corbin, Crosby, Daning, Delleney, Forrester, Gilliard, Govan, Hamilton, Hardwick, Harrell, Harrison, Hart, Hearn, Henderson, Hiott, Hixon, Hodges, Horne, Hosey, Huggins, Jefferson, King, Loftis, McCoy, Merrill, Moss, Murphy, Nanney, Ott, Parker, Pinson, Quinn, Ryan, Sabb, Sandifer, Sellers, Skelton, Smith, Smith, Sottile, Spires, Stavrinakis, Stringer, Tallon, Taylor, Toole, Whipper, Young, Thomas
Meadors -Senate: Alexander, Anderson, Ralph Bryant, Campsen, Coleman, Davis, Elliott, Fair, Gregory, Hayes, Land, Leatherman, Leventis, Lourie, Malloy, Martin, Nicholson, O’Dell, Pinckney, Reese, Rose, Sheheen, Verdin, Williams
House: Agnew, Atwater, Bales, Bowen, Bowers, Brady, Brantley, Brown, Cobb-Hunter, Crawford, Dillard, Frye, Funderburk, Gambrell, Howard, Johnson, Knight, Long, Lowe, Lucas, Mack, McEachern, McLeod, Moss, Neal, Neal, Norman, Owens, Parks, Pitts, Pope, Putnam, Simrill, Smith, Smith, Southard, Thayer, Tribble, Vick, White, Whitmire, Williams, Willis,
