COLUMBIA Hospital patient charged with intent to distribute heroin

A patient at Palmetto Health Richland has been arrested, suspected of dealing heroin from his room.

Troy Baxter, 44, is charged with possessing heroin with intent to distribute. Baxter was charged after a hospital security officer recovered a pill bottle July 31 containing 21 tabs of heroin the patient threw into a wastebasket in his room, police said. The (Columbia) State

Mecklenburg County Charlotte

Man killed by truck near Freedom Drive

A man was struck and killed Thursday by a tractor-trailer in a west Charlotte parking lot, police said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer pulled into the lot at the corner of Freedom Drive and Thrift Road around 5 a.m. after driving from Georgia, said Charlotte-Mecklenburg police. Gary C. Davis, the 56-year-old driver, stopped there and went to sleep in the cab of the truck, waiting for a nearby business to open so he could make a delivery.

Police said Davis was awakened around 6:30 a.m., when someone alerted him to a man lying behind the trailer. Davis apparently didn't know the man was there, police said.

The victim was identified Friday as Johnny Lewis Potts, 50.

No charges had been filed against the driver. The investigation is ongoing. Steve Lyttle and Meghan Cooke

Crash kills motorcyclist in southwest Charlotte

Police are investigating a single-vehicle wreck that killed a 20-year-old motorcyclist in southwest Charlotte.

Construction workers found Roman Ivanovich Tenenika in a ditch along Sandy Porter Road, near Shopton Road, around 9:30 a.m. Friday, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg police.

Tenenika, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet, was unresponsive, police said. Paramedics pronounced him dead around 9:45 a.m.

Police said they found motorcycle debris and parts scattered around the area, and then discovered a crashed motorcycle in a wooded area near the road.

According to police, it appears Tenenika lost control of the motorcycle and hit a tree between 2 a.m. and about 9:40 a.m. Meghan Cooke

York County, S.C. Rock Hill

Mo-ped death is 2nd fatality on S.C. 901 in week

A man on a mo-ped has died in the second fatal crash on S.C. 901 in Rock Hill in less than a week.

Robert Walker Rainey, 44, of York died as a result of injuries sustained in the two-vehicle crash, said York County Deputy Coroner David Chambers.

Rainey was riding a high-speed mo-ped, a Bash motorcycle, north on Heckle Boulevard toward York around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Rock Hill Police Lt. Brad Redfearn.

Rainey's mo-ped collided with a Ford Expedition on S.C. 901 at Herlong Village Drive near CVS and Wendy's. The driver of the SUV was attempting to turn left on Heckle Boulevard and struck Rainey, Redfearn said.

Last Friday, a bicyclist was struck by a driver who left the scene. Joe Lee McCullough Jr., 50, of Rock Hill died as a result of the collision on Heckle Boulevard.

The accident happened around 6:30 p.m. on the northbound side of Heckle Boulevard, between the entrance of Old Pointe Elementary School and Rawlinson Road.

Timothy Hollis, 26, of Ridge Road in Clover was charged with felony driving under the influence and leaving the scene of an accident.

Since 2003, 10 people have died in Rock Hill crashes on Heckle Boulevard, according to Rock Hill Police data. Kimberly Dick, (Rock Hill) Herald

York

York man arrested 2 years after armed robbery

A York man was arrested Friday in connection with an armed robbery two years ago in which he is accused of meeting a teen on a bike trail, hitting him with a bottle and taking his cell phone.

Thomas Chase Shively, 21, has been charged with strong-arm robbery and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.

In March 2009, Shively, then 18, and another teen allegedly met a 16-year-old on a bike trail on Moore Street in York, according to a York Police report. The two asked the teen if they could use his phone to buy some drugs, and he told them no.

As the teen tried to leave, the two knocked him to the ground and began hitting him on the head with bottles, the report states. The victim suffered scratches on his arm and his lip was swollen. They took his cell phone and fled.

After a lengthy investigation, Shively was picked up by Rock Hill Police and charged. (Rock Hill) Herald

Rowan County Salisbury

Police investigate body found in car

The body of a motorist was found Friday morning inside a car that had gone off the road and crashed into a creek in Rowan County, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol.

The car was discovered by a passing motorist about 6:30 a.m. on Mount Hope Church Road, a short distance west of Old Concord Road. That is a few miles southwest of Salisbury.

Troopers say they aren't sure when the car crashed. The vehicle wasn't discovered until dawn, they say.

It is unclear if the victim died in the crash or from other causes. Troopers are continuing to investigate. Steve Lyttle

North Carolina Durham

Autopsy: Mangum's boyfriend died of stabbing

An autopsy reveals that the boyfriend of Duke lacrosse accuser Crystal Mangum died from a single stab wound.

The report, released Friday, says 46-year-old Reginald Daye suffered damage to six major organs from the stabbing in April.

Mangum is charged with murder. A call to her attorney Friday was not immediately returned.

Police say she stabbed Daye during an argument. He died in a Durham hospital about 10 days later.

The autopsy says the knife punctured his left lung and damaged his diaphragm, stomach, colon, left kidney and spleen.

The 32-year-old Mangum falsely accused members of the Duke University lacrosse team of rape in 2006, and the district attorney who championed her case was later disbarred. Associated Press