South Carolina basketball star charged with assault, kidnapping (2024)

THIS IS WYFF NEWS FOUR TODAY. DEATHS ARE ON THE RISE ON THE ROAD. AN UPSTATE CORONER WEIGHING IN ON AN ALARMING TREND. IT WAS HIS MOTIVATION FOR PEOPLE THAT REALLY STRUCK A NERVE. CAR ENTHUSIASTS IN THE UPSTATE REMEMBERING AN ICON COMING UP, HOW PEOPLE CELEBRATED THE MEMORY OF ROB RABBIT PITTS. GOOD MORNING. I’M PEYTON FURTADO. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US HERE ON YOUR SATURDAY MORNING, 7:00. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO TODAY. THIS IS OUR LAKE HARTWELL SKYCAM GORGEOUS MORNING AHEAD. OH MY GOSH. YOU CAN SEE THE PINK IN THE SKY. THAT DARK BLUE. THE LIGHT BLUE UP TOP 71 DEGREES OUT THERE. COOL CALM WATERS. IT LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW SYDNEY SULLIVAN IS A SUCKER FOR A LAKE DAY. SHE’S IN THE STUDIO WITH US. SYDNEY. IS IT GOING TO BE A GOOD DAY FOR FOLKS TO GET UP AND GET OUTSIDE? YES, ABSOLUTELY. I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE A VERY SIMILAR SETUP TO YESTERDAY. I WAS OUT ON THE LAKE YESTERDAY AND MOST OF THE DAY WAS DRY, BUT TOWARDS THE LATER PART OF THE AFTERNOON WE WERE DODGING SOME SHOWERS AND STORMS AND THAT’S GOING TO BE THE CASE YET AGAIN TODAY. BUT WE ARE WAKING UP TO MAINLY QUIET CONDITIONS. A FEW AREAS THAT ARE DEALING WITH SOME PATCHY FOG, SO FROM CULLOWHEE INTO FRANKLIN, OVER TOWARDS UNION AND GAFFNEY, THOSE ARE THE LOCATIONS WHERE WE’RE SEEING THE BEST CHANCE FOR FOG DEVELOPMENT. BUT THE GOOD NEWS IS IT’S NOT AREA WIDE, SO IT SHOULDN’T REALLY BE IMPACTING YOU MUCH THIS MORNING AS MOST OF US ARE LOOKING AT DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE CAROLINAS AND GEORGIA. NOW, AS FAR AS OUR TEMPERATURES GO, WE ARE TRENDING ABOUT 3 TO 5 DEGREES COOLER THAN THIS TIME YESTERDAY MORNING. WE ARE SITTING AT 72 DEGREES IN GREENVILLE, 70, IN ANDERSON, SPARTANBURG 68, AND ASHEVILLE ALSO SITTING AT 68 DEGREES. SO NOT A BAD WAY TO KICK OFF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND, BUT THIS WEEKEND IS GOING TO COME WITH SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS. THE GOOD NEWS IS NO DAY APPEARS TO BE A WASHOUT, SO STILL PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES TO GET OUTSIDE, WATCH SOME FOOTBALL, GET OUT ON THE LAKE AND ENJOY THE LONG WEEKEND. OVER THE NEXT 12 HOURS, WE WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE THE CLOUD COVER AND WE’LL SEE HIGHS PUSHING THE UPPER 80S RIGHT NEAR 90 DEGREES. THAT WILL COME WITH SOME SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS, ESPECIALLY LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EARLY EVENING. AND THEN WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE THIS THEME THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. BUT COMING UP, WE’LL HAVE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LATEST TIMING OF THE STORMS AND HOW IT WILL IMPACT YOUR TEMPERATURES. PEYTON. THANK YOU. SYDNEY, A SOUTH CAROLINA INMATE IS ASKING THE STATE SUPREME COURT TO DELAY HIS EXECUTION. NOW, THIS IS CONVICTED MURDERER FREDDIE OWENS. HE’S ASKING FOR THIS DELAY, SO HIS LAWYERS CAN ARGUE HIS CODEFENDANT LIED ABOUT HAVING NO PLEA DEAL IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS TESTIMONY AGAINST OWENS. OWENS IS SET TO BE THE FIRST STATE EXECUTION IN MORE THAN 13 YEARS, AND ONLY ON WYFF NEWS FOUR, AN EXCLUSIVE NEW LOOK AT CONSTRUCTION BY THE OLD GREENVILLE-PICKENS SPEEDWAY. OUR NATE STANLEY STOPPED BY THE $40 MILLION CONSTRUCTION SITE AND SHOWS US THEIR PLANS. CONSTRUCTION IS IN FULL SWING ALONG CALHOUN MEMORIAL HIGHWAY IN PICKENS COUNTY. ELRINGKLINGER LEADERS SAY THEY HOPE TO CREATE BATTERIES FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES. THEY’RE THE FIRST OF TWO CONCRETE PADS HAVE BEEN POURED, SET TO BE THE HOST OF PRODUCTION LINES. THEY MOVE IN FOR EQUIPMENT AND COMMISSIONING IS FEB MARCH, APRIL. THEN IT’S GOING TO BE A LAUNCH PHASE. YOU KNOW, TRAINING PEOPLE, DIALING IN THE EQUIPMENT AND TOWARDS AUGUST, SEPTEMBER WE WILL BE SHIPPING FIRST PRODUCT FROM HERE TO OUR CUSTOMER. THE COMPANY HOPES TO CREATE OVER 100 JOBS, SOME OF THE POSITIONS WOULD BE ENGINEERS. WE’RE LOOKING FOR R&D, SKILLED PRODUCTION. OF COURSE WE’RE LOOKING FOR SOME SPECIALISTS AND QUALITY. ELRINGKLINGER IS ALSO WORKING ON A PROGRAM THAT RECRUITS COLLEGE STUDENTS. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE, AS ERIC KLINGER, A LOCAL ENGINEERING COMMUNITY ON SITE HERE TO SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS HERE VERSUS GOING TO DIFFERENT PLACES IN THE STATES OR EVEN IN EUROPE, AND COMES AS THE REST OF THE SITE IS SLOWLY TURNING INTO AN INDUSTRIAL PARK. EVENTUALLY IT WILL SPREAD ALL THE WAY FROM THE SPEEDWAY TO UP WHERE WE ARE HERE. YOU KNOW, AND THERE WILL BE NUMEROUS COMPANIES HERE. THAT WAS OUR NATE STANLEY REPORTING. AND LAST NIGHT, AN UPSTATE STUDENT WHO WAS KILLED IN A U-T-V CRASH WAS HONORED AT HIS HIGH SCHOOL’S FOOTBALL GAME. LET’S TAKE A LISTEN. LET’S GO. BABY. 16 YEAR OLD ETHAN HARRELL ATTENDED BOILING SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL. NOW, THAT WAS ETHAN’S BEST FRIEND. HE’S ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM. HE CARRIED ETHAN’S BASEBALL JERSEY WHEN THE FOOTBALL TEAM RAN ONTO THE FIELD. A T SHIRT SALE BEFORE THAT GAME RAISED FUNDS TO HELP SUPPORT ETHAN’S FAMILY. AND A GREENVILLE COUNTY MAN IS FACING CHARGES CONNECTED TO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF A MINOR. THE SOUTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL SAYS 26 YEAR OLD TIMOTHY TAYLOR WAS ARRESTED THURSDAY. INVESTIGATORS SAY TAYLOR DISTRIBUTED AND POSSESSED FILES WITH CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MATERIAL. WE’RE TOLD HE FACES SIX CHARGES IN CONNECTION TO THAT CASE. AND A TEEN IN LAURENS COUNTY IS ACCUSED OF TWO DIFFERENT SHOOTINGS. THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS 18 YEAR OLD JAY TAYLOR WAS ARRESTED EARLIER THIS WEEK AFTER A SHOOTING AT THE CITGO ON HIGHWAY 72, IN CROSS HILL FRIDAY, DEPUTIES ANNOUNCED MORE CHARGES, SAYING TAYLOR IS NOW ACCUSED IN A SHOOTING AT A HOME IN JOANNA, WHILE FOUR PEOPLE WERE INSIDE. THAT SHOOTING WAS EARLIER THIS MONTH. NO ONE WAS INJURED. AND IN GREENVILLE COUNTY, MORE PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS ARE DYING. THAT’S ACCORDING TO THE CORONER’S OFFICE. WE’RE GOING TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT SOME NUMBERS. THE GREENVILLE COUNTY CORONER’S OFFICE SAYS 15 PEOPLE WHO WERE WALKING IN THE ROAD, AND TWO CYCLISTS HAVE DIED SO FAR THIS YEAR. NOW, ACCORDING TO INVESTIGATORS, MOST OF THESE WERE CAUSED BY DISTRACTED DRIVERS. A PEDESTRIAN OR CYCLIST NOT USING THE CROSSWALK AND NOT MAINTAINING THE RIGHT OF WAY AT INTERSECTIONS. THE SENIOR DEPUTY CORONER SAYS THERE ARE WAYS TO PREVENT THIS. HIGH VISIBILITY. SO SAY WEAR BRIGHT CLOTHING, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT WHEN YOU’RE OUT. DARK CLOTHING. IT’S HARD TO SEE. ELIMINATE THE DISTRACTED DRIVING. NO TEXTING AND DRIVING. SHELTON, ENGLAND SAID IT IS. IT ONLY TAKES A COUPLE OF SECONDS TO TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE ROAD. AND THAT COULD MEAN SOMEONE’S LIFE. FOUR MORE PEOPLE HAVE DIED THIS YEAR IN GREENVILLE COUNTY THAN LAST YEAR. ALL LAST YEAR, AND CAR ENTHUSIASTS FROM ALL ACROSS THE STATE AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY WERE IN EASLEY FOR ROB PITTS FUNERAL. THEY BROUGHT MUSCLE CARS, SPORTS CARS, ALL TO REMEMBER. THIS CAR ICON. REY LLERENA REPORTS FROM ROCK SPRINGS BAPTIST CHURCH. CARS LIKE THIS CLASSIC MUSTANG SHOWED OUT TO A CAR SHOW AHEAD OF A FUNERAL FOR ROB RABBIT PITTS AND ACCORDING TO THE PEOPLE CLOSEST TO HIM, THESE ARE THE TYPES OF CARS HE LOVED TO WORK ON MOST. RABBIT DIED ON SUNDAY FOLLOWING A BATTLE WITH STAGE FOUR STOMACH CANCER. HE WAS 45 YEARS OLD. THE GREENVILLE NATIVE ROSE TO NATIONAL FAME THROUGH HIS YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND NETFLIX SHOW, TEX MEX MOTORS. HE ALSO OWNED RABBITS USED CARS IN SENECA. PEOPLE, HOWEVER, SAY IT’S HIS PERSONALITY THAT HE WILL BE REMEMBERED FOR. EVERY CAR SHOW THAT WE WENT TO, WE KNEW 30 TO 50 PEOPLE WERE FOLLOWING US THERE. HE JUST BROUGHT SUCH CHARISMA AND SUCH ENERGY TO THIS COMMUNITY. PEOPLE SAY THEY FELT LIKE RABBIT WAS ONE OF THEM AND THAT THIS WAS A LIFE THAT WAS TAKEN FAR TOO SOON. PITTS IS SURVIVED BY HIS WIFE AND FAMILY. REPORTING IN EASLEY, REY LLERENA, WYFF NEWS FOUR. AND IF YOU PLAN TO TRAVEL THIS WEEKEND, BE PREPARED FOR A CROWD. THE TSA IS CALLING THIS THE BUSIEST LABOR DAY TRAVEL WEEKEND ON RECORD. YESTERDAY WAS EXPECTED TO BE THE BUSIEST ONE. NOW THIS WAS PROJECTED AT 3 MILLION TRAVELERS. ONE CLEMSON STUDENT TRYING TO FLY HOME AT A GSP WAS STUCK AT THE AIRPORT WITH A 12 HOUR DELAY. WE CAUGHT UP WITH HER. SHE HAD A LITTLE ADVICE TO OTHERS TRAVELING THIS WEEKEND. GET THERE EARLY LIKE A FEW HOURS EARLY. DON’T STRESS AND LIKE TSA IS THERE TO HELP YOU. THEY MIGHT SEEM STRESSED, BUT LIKE THEY’RE NOT OUT TO GET YOU JUST BE NICE TO THEM AND ALL WILL BE FINE. THE OFFICIAL LABOR DAY TRAVEL SEASON STARTED THURSDAY. IT’S GOING TO LAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER FOURTH, BUT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD TO SOME LOWER PRICES AT THE PUMP THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND. THAT’S ON THE BRIGHT SIDE. GASBUDDY PROJECTS THE GAS NATIONAL AVERAGE ON LABOR DAY WILL BE $3.27 A GALLON. THAT’S THE LOWEST FOR THE HOLIDAY SINCE 2021. THE DECREASE IN GAS PRICES IS BECAUSE OF WEAKER OIL PRICES. A LOWER DEMAND FOR GAS AND FEWER MAJOR REFINERY OUTAGES THAN LAST YEAR. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT SOME GAS PRICES IN OUR AREA. WE’VE GOT SOME GOOD ONES HERE. SOUTH CAROLINA. $3.01, NOR