Columbia, SC, Hate Crime: Bond Hearing, Charges Laid

 

.The post-diversity Carter Strange.
 

The pre-diversity Carter Strange.
 
Friday, Jun. 24, 2011

Bond set for suspect in 5 Points beating
Teen’s condition critical after attack; suspects aged 13-19
By Noelle Phillips nophillips@thestate.com
The State

A $750,000 bond was set Friday afternoon for one of the suspects in the brutal beating of an 18-year-old Columbia man.
 

Carter Strange's mother, Vicki, during Friday's bond hearing.
 

Carter Strange's parents, Vicki and John, after Friday's bond hearing.
 

The hearing for Tyheem Henrey, 19, was held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center where he is being held on charges of second-degree assault and battery by a mob, robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. A bond hearing for a second suspect, who is 16, and facing the same charges, was scheduled immediately after Henrey’s hearing but City Court Judge Dana Turner denied media access because he is a juvenile.

Those are two of the eight suspects who turned themselves into Columbia police Thursday night after surveillance video appeared to connect them to the crime, the Columbia Police Department said.
 

Tyheem Henrey listens as Carter Strange's father expresses his sorrow for Henrey's family and his hope that he will one day forgive Henrey for what he allegedly did to his son. Tyheem Henrey, 19, had a bond hearing, Friday, for his alleged role in the beating of an 18-year-old who was running home through five points to make curfew on Monday. The hearing was held at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
- Kim Kim Foster-Tobin /kkfoster@thestate.com
 

• The charges against the eight suspects are as follows:
• Tyheem Henrey, 19, along with a 14-year-old, 15-year-old and 16-year-old are charged with Strong Arm Robbery, Second Degree Assault and Battery by a Mob and Criminal Conspiracy.
• The 13-year-old and three 16-year-olds are charged with Criminal Conspiracy.
Source: Columbia Police Department

Eight suspects, ranging in age from 13 to 19, could be seen on a Five Points sidewalk in the video. They each face charges related to the incident.

The victim, Carter Strange, had reconstructive surgery Friday afternoon to repair multiple broken bones in his face. He underwent emergency brain surgery after the beating, his family said.

Strange was running along Blossom Street near the Walgreens and Wachovia after midnight Monday when he was attacked by four men, the Columbia Police Department reported. After the beating, Strange managed to run several blocks to Edisto Avenue, where a passerby found him two hours later and called 911, police said.

Strange was taken to the hospital, where he had emergency surgery to remove a clot from his brain, police reported. The teen remained in critical condition in a Columbia hospital and was expected to have reconstructive surgery on his face, according to police.

Strange had been helping a friend earlier in the night and was jogging back home when he was attacked, said Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott. The chief did not know where the victim had been or where his home was.

The Police Department on Thursday released video footage of men it says are the suspects. The footage, recorded by security cameras in Five Points, shows eight men walking along a sidewalk.

Earlier the night of the beating, the group of suspects had tried to attack others, but those people managed to escape unharmed, Scott said.

The police department also has footage for four men darting across the street toward Strange, said Jennifer Timmons, the department spokeswoman. However, the department did not release that footage to the public.

All of the footage was provided to police by the Five Points Merchants Association, which has installed dozens of security cameras outside businesses, Scott said.

The security cameras are just one response to increasing concern about crime in Five Points.

A 2 a.m. bar closing, with many exceptions, will go into effect later this summer, and City Council is considering a curfew. The police and fire departments have beefed up overcrowding inspections at bars, and city police are allowed to work off-duty security in the bars.

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