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MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. Conway Attorney Irby Walker was charged today with trying to hire someone to kill another attorney, according to police.
Walker, 58, was charged with solicitation of a felony after Doug Thornton told police Sept. 11 that Walker had made threats against his life and believed he was trying to follow through on those threats, according to Horry County police Lt. Jamie DeBari.
During an investigation, Horry County police learned that Walker tried to hire someone to kill Thornton, DeBari said. Walker was arrested Thursday and booked into J. Reuben Long Detention Center at 7:30 p.m. He is scheduled for a bond hearing later today.
Thornton said he is concerned about the incident and plans to appear at the bond hearing. The men have known each other since 1982, and Thornton said he shared an office with Walker until 2006, before relocating his practice.
``Concerned, amazed stunned don’t even know what to think or say about it. It’s unbelievable,’’ Thornton said Friday morning. ``I know a few things that may contributed to it. I still have some very serious concerns about what will happen with this.’’
Between Sept. 11 and Thursday, police recorded conversations Walker had with another person, who is not named in the warrant, about how much he would be willing to pay to have Thornton killed, according to the arrest warrant.
On Thursday, the person set up a meeting with Walker at his law office at 212 Elm St., and Walker paid the person part of the money for the act, according to the warrant. The remainder of ``the balance to be paid after Mr. Thornton had been killed,’’ according to the warrant.
The arrest is among several incidents that put Walker’s name in the news this year. He has been representing Atlantic Beach Mayor Retha Pierce and was scheduled to appear in court Thursday on her behalf for trespassing charge that stemmed from January. A judge in the case continued it until October.
In May, a woman, who worked for Walker, and her husband were charged with stealing $250,000 from him.
Jessamine Johnson, 42, of Myrtle Beach was charged May 26 with criminal conspiracy and breach of trust with a value of more than $5,000, and Glenn K. Johnson, 43, was charged with criminal conspiracy after $250,000 was discovered missing from Walker's office.
At the time, Walker told police that on May 15 he and another employee discovered $250,000 missing from accounts of his firm, located at 212 Elm St., according to a Conway police report.
The S.C. Bar Association’s web site shows that Walker was admitted to the bar on Nov. 1, 1976 and has no disciplinary actions.
According to a web site promoting Walker’s firm, he was born in Manning, attended Baptist College at Charleston where he received a bachelor’s of arts in 1972. He went on to the University of South Carolina where he obtained a law degree in 1976 and then George Washington University for an intellectual property law degree focused on taxation.
Walker, is listed as the principal attorney in his firm, was admitted to practice in the U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina and the U.S. Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit in 1977. He established his practice in 1980.
Walker’s practice areas include criminal law, divorce, personal injury, Social Security and automobile accidents.
