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Two cases were dismissed after the Blackville Police Department failed to supply all evidence to the state.
At the June 10 proceedings at the Barnwell County Courthouse, presiding Judge Courtney Clyburn Pope dismissed the charges of two unrelated defendants after both the solicitor's office and defense attorney explained they had yet to receive body camera footage from the department.
The first case dismissed related to the September 13, 2023 arrest of 24-year-old Daysha Rowe in Blackville. Rowe was charged with interference/hindering officers serving a warrant.
It is alleged in the warrant that on September 9, 2023, Rowe “knowingly and willingly attempted to prevent the Blackville Police Department and SLED from apprehending a fugitive from justice,” said deputy solicitor David Miller.
The warrant alleges Rowe shouted to the individual law enforcement was looking for, which she denies, according to her public defender, Wallis Alves.
Alves sent the first email to the solicitor’s office on November 21, 2023 requesting body camera footage from the incident. In gathering evidence to create a discovery (a case file with all evidence and reports), the solicitor’s office is tasked with communicating with law enforcement.
“Each time we received communication from Ms. Alves, we contacted the Blackville Police Department and asked them for the body worn camera video, and they haven’t given it to us,” said Miller.
At the preliminary hearing on April 16, 2024, the Blackville Police Department (PD) had still not submitted the requested footage – nearly five months after the incident and Rowe’s arrest.
According to Alves, at this preliminary hearing a responding Blackville PD officer said that officers were wearing cameras, but footage had not been uploaded to ProDocs: the e-filing system used to store documentation regarding court proceedings available to both the defense and prosecution.
“The only way we can show what happened is the video,” said Alves. “The state can’t provide it if the officers don’t provide it for the state… In this case, the state cannot comply because law enforcement is not cooperating with the state.”
Commonly, the solicitor’s office will return a case to law enforcement if all the needed material has yet to be provided or further investigation is needed. However, Miller explained he felt it would be “fruitless” to do so based on the extended timeline already given to the department.
Ultimately, Judge Pope dismissed the case and related charges.
The second case dismissed was that of 40-year-old Joshua Washburn, who was arrested on March 20, 2024 in Blackville.
Washburn was originally charged with two counts of assault & battery first degree, and unlawful possession of a firearm. Miller explained the Blackville PD has yet to submit the entirety of the body camera footage after numerous requests.
“We repeatedly requested that the videos be uploaded and we haven’t gotten them,” said Miller.
The solicitor’s office did receive links to a Google Drive after Washburn’s arrest, but the links were not accessible and anything they contained could not be downloaded.
The responding officer, Captain L. Huggins, did successfully upload one 10-minute video of the incident. However, during Washburn’s preliminary hearing, the state and defense was informed there are four to five more videos which have yet to be seen.
The Blackville PD’s body cameras record in 10-minute spurts, according to Miller, requiring officers to upload separate videos spanning over one incident.
The department did upload an incident report, which Alves found “goes into a lot of details that are not on the video,” she said, prompting her to request the rest of the footage from the state and therefore from law enforcement.
Judge Pope granted the defense’s motion to dismiss the case.
