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[/if ImageKingstree] In an effort to find answers as to why several murders have gone unsolved in the Nesmith and Morrisville areas, residents met with local law enforcement and Williamsburg County officials on April 23, at Mt. Ararat AME church. The round table discussions would prove to be informative.
Invited guest speaker Williamsburg County Sheriff Kelvin Washington provided a slide presentation that focused on cases under his administration. Washington was elected to office in 1999 and prior to his position as Williamsburg County Sheriff he worked as a patrolman, narcotics agent and criminal investigator.
The sheriff was there not only to answer questions but also to dispel rumors and innuendoes regarding two recent murder cases in Nesmith. He said normally he does not address bad information but because of the sensitivity of the issue he felt it appropriate to clear the air and put to rest a few things that in his opinion, were absolutely not true. He also reminded the crowd that the rumors, such as the department is not doing their job, are not fair to the families of the victims. For his presentation, Washington compiled every homicide or murder investigation that has occurred since he has been in office. The information included the department’s clearance rate as it relates to murders in Williamsburg County. According to the sheriff’s statistics, from February 1999 until present, 40 murders have been reported in Williamsburg County. Of those, 36 were closed by arrest and four are under investigation (two of those four have taken place in the past 45 days).
Washington said he has heard remarks such as, “You get what you pay for” which openly offended him and led him to discuss his limited budget, a product of playing catch-up from events that occurred in administration prior to 1993. The current sheriff’s office $1.7 million budget is a piece of a 26-department pie county council must juggle.  
Washington also shared the strategies his department is using to counter any shortcomings by aggressively searching for and securing grant money. He added that he has been working with council to secure a new facility, additional law enforcement officers and gang investigators among other personnel.
Though a 90 percent arrest rate is impressive and reflects a professional team working with their share of the pie, five murders have occurred in the local’s own backyard (one case where the body was found in Nesmith has never been determined to have actually taken place in the area and two have been solved) and they were looking for answers.
When the sheriff was asked how the recent investigations were going, his response was “We are moving in the right direction.” Typical as it may seem, the sheriff explained his limited response. “I get calls every day by citizens and reporters wanting information,” said Washington. “But all you will hear is the case is under investigation and we are following leads. Why is that all you will hear? Because if I run my mouth about what I’m working with and then they start running their mouths about what I’m working with then the case can be jeopardized.”
One of the slides in Washington’s presentation reflected a disturbing statistic and one that many in the room were not aware of. South Carolina is #1 in violent crimes (data is based on groups of 100,000). “This is a very violent state we live in,” said Washington. “I’m embarrassed by that but it’s a fact.”  With that, the sheriff closed with a request of the very residents seeking answers. “My job is to get information to solve crimes. But for some reason I have a very difficult time getting information out of the Nesmith community,” said Washington who reminded the crowd that monetary rewards have been offered to encourage leads. He also reminded the citizens that they can call the Crime Stoppers tip line to report information anonymously. “I’m going to do what I’m supposed to do,” he said. “But I need you to do your job and get me the information that I need. That’s how we solve crimes.” He then drove home a frightening scenario. “If you have a killer within your community and you’re afraid to say something because the killer is in your community, do you think you’re  safe? So work with me to get him out of your community.” Someone from the back of the church spoke up. “And the information is right here in this community.”
The information provided by the sheriff is public record and available through the office or through the SLED website.  To report a crime, callers may call Crime Stoppers at (843) 667-TIPS or 1-888-CRIME-SC. Callers do not have to reveal their names.