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Deputies investigating if group of dogs are responsible for man’s death in Chesterfield County

By WSOCTV.com News Staff

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. — Chesterfield County deputies said a man was found dead in the middle of the road with his clothes shredded and covered in bite marks.

Now, the sheriff’s office is investigating whether four dogs were responsible for his death.

Authorities said they found the body of Scottie Brigman, 34, earlier in May on Bailey Sawmill Road, surrounded by four pit bulls.

“When some of our patrol units arrived they did see the dogs on scene waiting around the body and they [police] had to shoo the dogs away,” said Capt. Wayne Jordan.

Deputies took all four dogs, and said one was a stray and three belonged to a nearby family. They’re examining the animals to see if they contributed to Brigman’s death.

“Once we got a manner of death, we could take it to the solicitor and seek charges against the owner of those three pit bull dogs,” Jordan said.

Traci Smith said she hopes the owner is charged. She believes the same dogs attacked her last month while she was riding her horse down the same dirt road.

“They were biting my horse from the front, from the back, all directions. And he was freaking out like you would expect him to do. He was jumping in the air, bucking, trying to run away but they were surrounding him and he couldn’t get away,” Smith said.

She said strangers heard her cry for help and came to the rescue, but she doesn’t want it to happen to anyone else again.

“I hope they’re charged with something,” Smith said.

The owner of the dogs wasn’t home Monday when Channel 9′s Tina Terry stopped by. Investigators said that if they find the dogs played a role in Brigman’s death, they could pursue charges.

Return to this story for updates.

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FORT BRAGG — This month, Special Forces candidates will participate in the Robin Sage training exercise, held within multiple North Carolina counties as the final test of their Special Forces Qualification Course training.

Between July 16 to Aug. 3, students will participate in this exercise before graduating the course and moving on to their first assignments in the Army’s Special Forces community. Robin Sage is a two-week culmination exercise. The participants are students at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, based out of Fort Bragg.

The exercise’s notional country of Pineland encompasses Alamance, Anson, Bladen, Brunswick, Cabarrus, Chatham, Columbus, Cumberland, Davidson, Guilford, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, New Hanover, Randolph, Richmond, Robeson, Rowan, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Union, and Wake counties in North Carolina and the South Carolina counties of Chesterfield, Dillon and Marlboro. Throughout the exercise, military and civilian support personnel, as well as community volunteers who serve as auxiliary, will participate in and/or provide support during each of these exercises. Military service members from units across Fort Bragg will also support the exercise. These military members act as realistic opposing forces and guerrilla freedom fighters, also known as Pineland’s resistance movement. These troops play a critical role in the training exercise. To add realism of the exercise, civilian volunteers throughout the state act as role-players. Participation by these volunteers is crucial to the success of this training, and past trainees attest to the realism they add to the exercise.

All Robin Sage movements and events have been coordinated with public safety officials throughout and within the towns and counties hosting the training. Residents may hear blank gunfire and see occasional flares. Controls are in place to ensure there is no risk to persons or property. Residents with concerns should contact local law enforcement officials, who will immediately contact exercise control officials.

For the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School, safety is always the command’s top priority during all training events. The following measures have been implemented:

• Formal written notification to the chiefs of law enforcement agencies in the affected counties, with a follow-up visit from a unit representative.

• All civilian and non-student military participants are briefed on procedures to follow if there is contact with law enforcement officials.

• Students will only wear civilian clothes if the situation warrants, as determined by the instructors, and will wear a distinctive brown armband during these instances.

• Training areas and vehicles used during exercises are clearly labeled.

Robin Sage is the U.S. military’s premiere unconventional warfare exercise and the final test of over a year’s worth of training for aspiring Special Forces Soldiers. Candidates are placed in an environment of political instability characterized by armed conflict, forcing Soldiers to analyze and solve problems to meet the challenges of this “real-world” training.

We appreciate the support and consideration the citizens of North Carolina extend to the Soldiers participating in the exercise and thank them for their understanding of any inconveniences the training may cause. Questions concerning the exercise should be referred to the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School Public Affairs Office at (910) 396-9394, or by e-mail at pao_swcs@socom.mil.

In the event of an emergency, please contact your local law enforcement agency.

Rock climbing gym operator Upper Limits will soon shutter its Downtown West location, a move it described as a "forced closing" stemming from Major League Soccer expansion franchise St. Louis City SC's plans to house its headquarters at the building.

Upper Limits said its final day of operations at its Downtown West climbing gym, located at 326 S. 21st St., the Union Square Plaza building, will be Sept. 15. In announcing the impending closure on its website, Upper Limits said it initially expected to remain in its current location after City SC in 2021 purchased the 43,161-square-foot building for $4.8 million and announced plans to renovate it to house its headquarters. The building is located adjacent to City's $461 million Downtown West development that includes the 22,500-seat Centene Stadium and team training facility.

"When the building where the downtown gym is located was sold last year, our understanding was that we would be able to continue our lease without interruptions. Recently, we were informed by the new owners that we would have to close in September. We attempted to find a way that our gym could stay at its location with the new owner’s uses, but we were unable to come to an agreement," Upper Limits said.

Upper Limits has operated at the building, where it occupies 4,000 square feet, for more than 20 years, said General Manager Steven Simonis. In a phone interview Monday, Simonis said the upcoming closure "wasn't really our decision" and that Upper Limits was surprised it would have to leave the building.

"In the beginning when the new ownership took over, it was talked about that we were going to be able to stay. I don't know, or I really couldn't speak on what or when that kind of switch happened," he said.

City SC, which is set to begin play next year, didn't immediately respond to questions, including when the headquarters is slated to open.

In the press release, Upper Limits founder and owner Chris Schmick said his company was "deeply saddened by the news" it would have to close its Downtown West location. He said it is currently seeking out a new location nearby its Downtown West gym.

"We hope to have a new downtown home soon and look forward to what the future holds," Schmick said.

Founded in 1992 and owned by the Schmick family, Upper Limits has locations in Downtown West, Chesterfield, Maryland Heights and Bloomington, Illinois.

Simonis said the Downtown West location has roughly 25 to 30 employees. In announcing the closure of its Downtown West gym, Upper Limits said it plans to offer its employees there jobs at its other locations.

Birch Creek Development announced this month that it will receive an increase in its credit facility to $250 million from Fundamental Renewables. Birch Creek, based in El Segundo, will use the proceeds from the credit facility to fund the development and construction of utility-scale solar projects.

In addition, the financing from Fundamental Renewables, which is based in New York, will go toward strategic acquisitions in key markets and will support Birch Creek’s solar module procurement strategy, a key component of the firm’s growth plan. Birch Creek focuses on the development and financing of utility-scale solar and storage projects, and since 2019 has financed more than 700 megawatts of solar power.

The company currently has 5-plus gigawatts of utility-scale solar projects in its pipeline in various stages of development across projects by Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc., an independent, not-for-profit, member-based organization in Carmel, Indiana focused on managing the generation and transmission of electricity across 15 U.S. states and the Canadian province of Manitoba; PJM Interconnection, an Audubon, Penn.-based company that handles electricity needs for millions of customers in all or parts of 13 states from Illinois to New Jersey and the District of Columbia; and in Texas, and the Southeast.

“This enhanced credit facility lets us execute on our current pipeline and target new opportunities in our core markets, while also giving us the financial backing necessary to pursue our strategic objectives,” Dan Siegel, chief executive of Birch Creek, said in a statement. “Fundamental Renewables has been an incredible partner to us over the last three years and our collaboration has resulted in a significant deployment of renewable energy in the United States.”

Mark Dominé, managing director of Fundamental Renewables, said that Birch Creek has developed a well-regarded pipeline of executable solar and storage projects. “We are excited to continue working with their team to support the development of renewable energy projects nationwide, and we are proud to be part of creating the many environmental benefits these projects will provide,” Dominé said in a statement. Fundamental Renewables is the renewable and clean-energy investment arm of Fundamental Advisors.

Birch Creek was founded in 2019 by a group of solar-industry executives. Its senior management team has collectively financed or developed solar generation projects in practically every state in the nation, according to the company.

To date, Birch Creek has developed 28 solar projects totaling about 315 megawatts of solar power generation. Some of the projects include Centerfield Solar, a 98-megawatt solar array on nearly 600 acres in Chesterfield, S.C. that can provide power to more than 10,000 homes; and the Grissom solar and storage project in Enfield, N.C. which generates 7 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power just more than 1,000 homes. It has the capacity to store 10-megawatt hours of electricity. Both projects went into operation last year.

Chesterfield County bus drivers stood at Central High School in Pageland protesting instead of driving their routes Monday morning.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, S.C. (WBTV) - It is a tale we have been hearing across our country - low pay but overworked. That caused a strike to happen right here in the WBTV viewing area.

Chesterfield County bus drivers are fighting back against what they call an unfair working environment. The drivers say the low wages are unacceptable, but they are taking more routes to make up for severe driver shortages.

Chesterfield County bus drivers stood at Central High School in Pageland protesting instead of driving their routes Monday morning.

A bus driver shortage has forced current drivers to pick up extra routes and the drivers say they are not getting paid enough for the longer hours they are working to make up for the shortages.

Melissa Gaines, one of the drivers who protested Monday morning, says many of the drivers pick up routes but are required to get them finished in the same amount of time as their regular schedule.

”We had to start from somewhere,” says Gaines.

Gaines has been driving buses at Chesterfield County Schools for years. So when she was outside of Central High School with 17 other drivers protesting Monday morning instead of on her route, she says it was for good reason.

”I wish we could have done it another way,” she says. “But we’ve been to the board office we’ve talked to them and you know we just had to do this.”

Gaines says the Chesterfield County School District is not paying them enough for everything they have to do. She says she is the only one on the bus driving 60 kids or more. It makes it hard for her, apparently, to focus on the road and what everyone is doing.

She says she has had kids choke on food, start fights, or get unruly on the bus while she is driving. Without help, she has to be the one to try and remedy the situation.

”We have been risking our lives and trying to transport our children from point A to point B without any supervision other than us on the buses. And you know we just feel like we deserve more,” she says.

She says they work longer routes to make up for shortages, but their route hours stay the same or are cut down five to 10 minutes. Even with the extra routes, drivers are supposed to get those done within the same amount of time.

”You know they look at it and think that don’t make a difference but at the end of the weeks that adds up,” says Gaines.

Chesterfield County Schools points to a state audit that has some drivers banking more hours.

In a statement sent to WBTV the district says the state audit increased hours for some routes and decreased it for others. It continues saying the audit told administrators some routes had been paid more hours than what they should have been which explains why some drivers started making less.

However, the district says drivers should talk to their supervisors about any route and hours discrepancies.

Chesterfield County Schools also says only one route was disrupted by several drivers protesting this morning.

These answers are unacceptable for Gaines and her fellow bus drivers so they feel until they are heard, they will keep fighting.

She and the other drivers do not like it because it means a disruption to students and parents. However, they feel like this is what the situation calls for at this time.

”It was hurtful it was really hurtful. But parents had to understand it was hard to do that but we had to do it then,” she explains.

Chesterfield County Schools pays their bus drivers $10.47 per hour. By the 20-year mark, that increases to $14.34. It continues to rise on the 21st and 22nd years. The district says rates are about a 10 percent increase in pay since 2019.

For comparison, Lancaster County Schools recently made a pay increase adjustment that would give their drivers the ability to make $21.31 per hour.

That is the top pay. Drivers not at top pay have a step pay increase along with a scale adjustment to get them there.

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