Latta woman seeks to close lounge, site of two murders

Williams

By: Patricia Burkett | SCNow
Published: October 15, 2008

DILLON — A weekend slaying in Dillon County has some residents on edge and concerned about the safety in their community.

It took place at about 1:30 a.m. Sunday at the F&R Lounge at 107 Willis St. near Latta.

Dillon County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Tracy “Buzzy” Finklea said Duane Alexei Ricketts, 27, of 411 Stewart St. in Dillon used a knife to slit the throat of Elford Jones, 40, of Dillon while the men were at the lounge.

Duane Ricketts, whose wife, Katayh Ricketts, was bartending at the lounge during the incident, apparently “seemed to be asleep or drunk” when he suddenly got up and killed Jones, Finklea said.

Deputies said they think Duane Ricketts slit Jones’ throat because he thought he heard Jones make disrespectful comments to his wife.

Lutherine Williams, a business owner in Latta, said she was devastated when she heard news of the murder. Her sister was slain at the club in 1992 during a shootout.

“It was a day that I could never forget and, from that moment, it gave me a totally different outlook on my community and where I live,” Williams said.

After that day, Williams said, she made it a personal mission to ensure the safety of everyone in her town. She took her mission from the beauty school she operates to a courtroom in Columbia, asking a judge to deny an alcohol license for the lounge.

“My No. 1 goal was to try to make sure that it happened to no other family, but it happened again,” she said. “So I want to know what South Carolina administrative law courts have to say about this.”

Williams told the court that she felt the lounge was a dangerous environment and that something had to be done to prevent further violence. But she said she felt as if her pleas fell on deaf ears.

“When I stated the fact that my sister had been murdered there, it was like, oh this was 15 years ago, this was a long time ago, but I don’t know if there’s someone listening to me and you had a loved one to get killed, there’s no years that places that away from you,” she said “... you remember that every day of your life.”

Williams traveled to Columbia with Latta Police Chief Bobby Powers, who she said also played an instrumental role in trying to block the issuance of the lounge’s the alcohol license.

The owner of the F&R lounge stated in court documents, however, Powers had no jurisdiction over the lounger because it is outside Latta town limits.

Now, Williams said, her mission to make the town safe has been reignited by a murder she feels could have been prevented.

Meanwhile, investigators continue to search for the Rickettses in connection with the case.

Katayh Ricketts initially told deputies she would cooperate, but now she is wanted for accessory after the murder because deputies think she is on the run with her husband, Finklea said. Deputies think the two are traveling in a 1996 green Mazda, S.C. license plate 800-WXR.

— scnow.com Multimedia Journalist Kevin Smetana contributed to this report.