Horry detective under investigation for potential misconduct in deadly SC shooting
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Scott Spivey
The North Carolina man was killed in shoot out along a South Carolina rural highway. Nearly two years after, his death is getting a new investigation.
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A former Horry County Police Department leader is under investigation for alleged misconduct regarding a shooting that killed a North Carolina man and involved a North Myrtle Beach restaurant owner.
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Thursday evening that it has opened an investigation involving Brandon Strickland and his conduct as it pertains to the investigation involving the death of Scott Spivey, said SLED spokesperson Renée Wunderlich by email.
Strickland resigned his position as deputy chief on Tuesday, according to a text from Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov. Moskov said that Strickland was not one of the officers investigating the shooting but would not provide additional information.
SLED is not re-opening the investigation into the death of Spivey at this time, Wunderlich said. SLED reviewed the case in 2024 and determined that there was not enough evidence to charge the two men who were involved in the shooting of Spivey.
Weldon Boyd, a North Myrtle Beach restaurant owner, and Kenneth Williams, a passenger in Boyd’s vehicle, claimed self-defense in the shooting. Neither man has been charged.
Scott Spivey died in a hail of gun fire on Camp Swamp Road near the intersection of Highway 9 in the Longs area in September 2023.
Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt announced Wednesday that the department has requested the case be reviewed once more by both the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI.
The request was made after Horry County received continuing questions related to Spivey’s shooting. The shooting was previously investigated by SLED and reviewed by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Kevin Wheeler, FBI spokesperson, said that the FBI has been asked but could not say whether the agency would investigate.
It is not known what Strickland did, but Strickland, who has been with the department since 2005, headed the Administration Bureau, which includes Criminal Investigations, Recruiting and Hiring, Training, Tech Unit, Logistics and Accreditation, Property and Evidence, and Records and Court Liaison units, according to Horry County Police.
There are several photos of Boyd with Strickland on his restaurant’s Facebook page, as well as other Horry County Police officers. The restaurant has hosted many events with the department and even provided donations of equipment for officers.
Spivey’s sister Jennifer Foley has pushed for answers in her brother’s death, refusing to accept that the shooting of the 33-year-old North Carolina man was in self-defense – a determination originally made by Horry County Police and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.
Foley filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2024 against his shooters, Weldon Boyd, a North Myrtle Beach restaurant owner, and Kenneth Williams, a passenger in Boyd’s vehicle.
Boyd told 911 dispatchers that Spivey was waving a gun out his window and that he too had a gun and was prepared to shoot him, according to 911 tapes released.
Boyd did not immediately return a message left Wednesday, and his attorney Ken Moss said he could not comment until he spoke to his client.
“The family has only asked for the truth,” Foley said Wednesday. “This family has had to find the truth for themselves. That’s from the beginning all we have ever wanted.”
Horry County Police closed the case in April, announcing they would not seek prosecution in Spivey’s shooting.
That decision followed the state Attorney General Office’s report that it, too, closed the case, concluding “insufficient evidence to merit criminal prosecution.” The Attorney General’s decision was based on SLED’s investigation.
SLED’s investigation is active and ongoing, Wunderlich said.
This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 8:46 PM.
