Police: Community needs to become more involved in own safety

FLORENCE — It’s been more than two days since 69-year-old Willie Mae Hayes was found stabbed to death on a dirt road in the northeastern portion of Florence.

On Thursday, community leaders gathered at the corner of North Dargan and Liberty streets — less than a quarter mile from where police believe someone forced their way into Hayes’ home — to spread the message that such criminal behavior won’t be tolerated in the city of Florence.

“We will not allow this kind of senseless violence to continue in our neighborhood,” Florence City Councilman Billy D. Williams said in a press release issued before Thursday’s press conference. “Our elderly who have nurtured this community deserve to feel and truly be safe in this community. We will do whatever it takes to make our neighborhood safe from the criminals and trash that commit the kind of act that was done to Willie Mae Hayes.”

Hayes’ death marks the first homicide in Florence so far this year, Florence Police Chief Anson Shells said.

The city’s murder rate is down this year when compared with the same time frame from previous years, Shells said.

He attributes the decline to things like officers working overtime and community partnerships.

“The police department, I will tell you, has had a very good track record when it comes to forming and helping to sustain community crime watch groups,” Shells said. “Back in 2002, there were only four community crime watch organizations in the city of Florence. To date, there are 33.”

Hayes’ death has generated a lot of community outrage, Shells said he hopes the interest in public safety continues.

“The thing that I would love to see happen from this is sustained concern, for people not to lose interest in keeping the community safe after a few months have passed,” he said.

Many residents living in Hayes’ neighborhood said they, too, are concerned about the safety of their community.

Maretha Downs, who lives three doors down from Hayes’ home, said she decided to make several big changes as a result of this week’s tragedy.

“First thing I did is call my carpenter and ask him to come over and put up a new front door,” Downs said. “The next thing I did is I went through the phone book and found me a security system service.”

Downs said she and others are talking about what they can do to make the community safer and take it back from criminals.

“We want our neighborhood back, we want our neighborhood back,” she said.

Police have already arrested two Florence men and a 14-year-old boy in connection to the case, but are searching for a fourth suspect who is believed to be a juvenile.

David Gerrard Johnson, 22, of 419 W. Sumter St., and Rashawn Jerome Bailey, 19, of 114 Liberty St., as well as the teen, are each charged with first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, armed robbery, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime and criminal conspiracy. Both men are convicted felons whose criminal records include burglary charges, according to State Law Enforcement Division arrest reports, and they are awaiting bond hearings before a circuit court judge. They remain in custody at the Florence County Detention Center in Effingham.

Funeral services for Hayes will be conducted at 11 a.m. Saturday at Monumental Missionary Baptist Church, where she was a member. She was mourned during a prayer vigil there Wednesday night by more than 300 people.

—WBTW News13’s Patricia Burkett contributed to this report.