DNA evidence loses sex case against councilman
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DNA evidence loses sex case against councilman...
Myrtle Beach Police arrested a Horry County councilman in a prostitution sting and charged him with loitering for prostitutes in October 2007. On May 14, prosecutors dropped the charges, but refuse...Published: May 29, 2009
Updated: May 30, 2009
Myrtle Beach officials released the case file Friday in the prostitution case against Horry County Councilman Marion Foxworth.
The city dropped its loitering for prostitutes case against Foxworth on May 14 and city prosecutor Mike Smith released this statement explaining why, “In consideration of the totality of the circumstances and facts in this particular case, the Office of the City Attorney has concluded it is in the interest of justice to dismiss all charging documents and not proceed with trial.”
Myrtle Beach Police booked Horry County councilman Marion Foxworth and a woman, Dorothy Crossman, who police call a “known prostitute,” on prostitution charges in October 2007.
Police say Foxworth paid Crossman $20 for oral sex after investigators said they saw Foxworth give Crossman a ride to her Canal Street home, then the pair spent several minutes inside.
In the patrol car video of investigators interrogating Foxworth, the councilman denied the accusations, “I was in there all of 10 minutes and I’m quick, but I’m not that quick, I’ll be honest with you.” Foxworth said.
“My wife is a school teacher; I work in marketing for a development company and I’m an elected official. I’m not going to try to do anything to get myself arrested for prostitution, I can tell you that,” Foxworth explained.
Crossman told police Foxworth gave her the money so she could buy cigarettes, then he gave her a ride home, “He said he wanted to go to the bathroom, he was on his phone, I said okay. He came in and I said well are you going to give me the money for the cigarettes? So, he handed me $20 and then he pulled his pants down and I said you’ve got to go.”
On Oct. 27, 2007, investigators got consent from Crossman to give a DNA sample to police as she walked near the railroad tracks on Canal Street, according to the case report.
Police used the sample to compare Crossman’s DNA to the stain on Foxworth’s pants.
Police confiscated Foxworth’s pants and underwear when he was arrested and sent them to a State Law Enforcement Division laboratory in Columbia for DNA analysis.
In a Feb. 22, 2008 email form Myrtle Beach Police Crime Scene Investigator, Michelle McSpadden, to her supervisors, McSpadden advised that SLED agent, Lilly Gallman advised her, “Believes the unknown donor is Foxworth, but she cannot confirm that as we do not have a standard from him.“
McSpadden continued, “She would like to have a DNA standard from Foxworth to confirm that the unknown male (whose DNA was found on Foxworth’s pants) is him, but she understands that he may not willingly provide one.”
On April 7, 2008, city prosecutor Mike Smith offered Foxworth a deal that would allow him to plead guilty to the charge with no fine or jail time.
Foxworth never pleaded to the charge and continued to publicaly deny the charge.
Smith officially dismissed the charge on May 14, 2009.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVTyLqkez6A
Video telling the truth, interesting.
This is very poor reporting. Did barr obtain a copy of the DNA report from SLED and get it analyzed by an independent expert? If he had, he would have learned that there was nothing there with which to tie the two together.
Additionally, the city could have forced him to give a DNA sample with a warrant or subpoena. They never took this action. Why not if this evidence was so necessary?
Foxworth was not offered a plea deal in April 2008. That didn’t occur until the city threatened to add a second charge to the case if he didn’t plead guilty to loitering.
He refused to plead, the city added the second charge. The second charge was added with exactly the same evidence the city had since October 2007.
Five months later, the city dismissed both charges “in the interest of justice” based on their claim of a review of the evidence. Why? Because the never had any case. What the city arrested Foxworth for didn’t happen!!
The city can only clear this up by answering why he was charged and scheduled for trial, a second charge was added, then all charges dropped with the same evidence being present for all these actions. How does this evidence justify all these contradictory actions?
Barr should be asking these types of questions or have the microphone taken away from him permanently.
The city smeared a person, who also happens to be a county politician, that several of the players in this incident don’t like.
To do that, the city’s legal justice system ignored the 4th, 5th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution as well as various state laws.
That’s the story Jody, not the crap you reported
The obvious question here is, What was he doing in a known prostitutes house after he had just given her a ride home?
Second obvious question.
WHY did he feel the need to go in the home of and use a known prostitutes toilet? Most of us really don’t use strange restrooms. Most of us think of what we may came in contact with in strange restrooms. AND most of us wouldn’t give a lift to a known prostitute just to use her john.
Third and glaringly obvious question, if it wasn’t his uhhhh dna on his trousers, then what strange man’s dna was on his trousers.
On second thought this could really be a comical story, if not for him being Horry County’s Councilman.
Wonder if he, Ed and Retha get together sometimes to come up with what they will do or say next to TRY to pull one over on us.
From now on M.B. will need to obtain DNA samples, and cross reference them on all of these type of cases. If not, no charges can be filed. Sounds fair to me. Or is this only for Good Old Boy officials?? The female should sue the CITY !!! G.
No one can help me understand this.
The woman pled guilty, was in jail 2 (?) days, was not fined, hours spent in jail WAS her fine. Got that. She has been found guilty.
But how the \o/ can she be charged with prostitution and it goes on HER record, if Foxworth did nothing? Foxworth said he was only ‘in there’ for 10 minutes. Well, big duh, he has a “good wife” at home waiting, is he going to take hours? No, he’s going to get what he came for and be gone! Before he is noticed where he shouldn’t be.
People like to argue that an ‘act’ can NOT take place in just a few minutes, YES, IT CAN. A man can go forever(especially if he is a sex addict) or he can be in a hurry (even if he is a sex addict).
This is ludicrous and unnerving that men can still be so easily believed when they are caught red-handed. But who am I to be surprised? Nothing that goes on here surprises me anymore, I just find it hard accepting that officials keep getting off. He won’t let the bad publicity he caused get him down. But you can bet I for one will never believe his flimsy story.
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