Former Latta mayor Lenneau Berry has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging he collected disability benefits while he was being paid by the town.

The wife of former Latta mayor Lenneau Berry made her initial appearance in federal court Wednesday morning in connection with theft charges she and her husband face.

A 26-year-old Latta man has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for credit card fraud and aggravated identity theft.

Former Latta mayor Lenneau Berry and his wife have been charged in a superseding indictment with theft of government funds, U.S. Atttorney W. Walter Wilkins said. The new indictment alleges that 46-year-old Sheila Berry aided and abetted her husband, who was indicted earlier this year, in fraudulently collecting disability benefits while he served as the mayor of Latta.

Children and adults alike gathered at the Latta Arts Center Saturday for a multi-cultural children’s day. Spread out inside the center, participants used glue, glitter and scissors as the created masks, patriotic plates, maracas, teepees, lucky hands and glitter galaxies.

Former Latta mayor Lenneau Berry has opted not to plead guilty to charges of stealing government funds and is expected to stand trial in federal court in September.

He pleaded guilty last may to misconduct in office, but got no prison time on state charges.

The Latta Fire Department is having a benefit auction 7 p.m. Saturday at the station located at 101 W. Bamberg St.

Dillon County authorities are treating a man’s death in a house fire Monday as a homicide.

Dillon County authorities are investigating a fatal house fire. Firefighters were called to a home on Legare Street in Latta about 2 a.m. Monday. The one person who was inside the home at the time, Harry Bethea Jr., died in the fire.

Deputies are searching for information and clues relating to the death of a Latta woman who was found dead inside her home by a neighbor Thursday.

A woman was shot and taken to a Florence hospital Tuesday after an early morning dispute, Dillon County Sheriff Major Hulon said.

A Latta man was sentenced to 185 months in prison after being found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to a press release issued Friday by U.S. Attorney Walter Wilkins.

Three Latta men and a juvenile are charged in connection with an assault that happened earlier this week, Latta police reports show.

Former Latta mayor Lenneau Berry, 57, and Harold J. Kornblut, 56, both of Latta, have been indicted on federal charges of stealing government funds.