‘In the shadows’: Did top Horry cop help fatal shooting suspect avoid charges?
A former Horry County Police deputy chief under scrutiny for his alleged conduct during an investigation in the shooting death of a North Carolina man has a friendship with one of the shooters and appears to use his position to protect the man.
Audio tapes and text messages uncovered during a civil suit filed by Scott Spivey’s family against the two shooters — Weldon Boyd, who owns the North Myrtle Beach restaurant Buoys on the Boulevard, and Kenneth Williams, a passenger in Boyd’s vehicle at the time — show that at least two officers and one elected official had contact with Boyd within days and hours of the deadly shooting.
The audio tapes were turned over to police.
Many of the tapes, including conversations with former police officer Brandon Strickland, appear to offer help to Boyd in the days after the 2023 shooting of the 33-year-old Tabor City man that occurred on Camp Swamp Road near Highway 9 in the Longs area.
The phone calls between Boyd and Strickland reveal a close friendship between the two men, with the officer telling Boyd at one point that he is working “in the shadows” for him the day after Spivey’s death.
Boyd had called Strickland within 30 minutes of the shooting on Sept. 9, 2023. Boyd also claims in a conversation with a family member that Strickland said that any warrants for his arrest would have to go through him.
Jennifer Foley, Scott Spivey’s sister, believes the relationship between Boyd and Strickland may have impacted the investigation of her brother’s death.
“They are paid by the taxpayers in this county to do a fair and equal investigation to everyone in their jurisdiction,” Foley said. “If it was the other way around, Scott (Spivey) would have been in jail right now if Weldon (Boyd) died. It may not be a cover up, but it sure makes it look like a cover up when you don’t follow protocol.”
Strickland, who had been with the department since 2005, resigned March 11, 2025, after being informed of an internal investigation regarding policy violations, according to a separation document filed by the department on March 26, 2025, with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy.
Strickland is now under criminal investigation regarding his conduct during the investigation of Spivey’s death, the document states. The document does not say what the conduct entails.
“We’re first of all not aware of what policies they are talking about or criminal activity,” said Bert von Herrmann, Strickland’s attorney. Von Herrmann said there has never been any accusations of criminal activity against Strickland until Horry County Police announced their investigation against the officer during a public news conference following his resignation.
Strickland has not been charged with any crime, nor Boyd or Williams. Law enforcement has ruled that the shooting was in self-defense — a claim that both men have made repeatedly in court documents.
Horry County Police determined that Spivey’s actions of brandishing a weapon, which included aiming a gun at Boyd and Williams, and road rage resulted in the exchange of gun fire.
“Scott Spivey’s death has been investigated by SLED and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office has declined prosecution of the case,” Williams’ attorney Robert E. Lee said by email. “The death of Scott Spivey as it relates to my client Kenneth Williams has not been re-opened and is not being re-examined much to the dismay of the lawyers for Mr. Spivey’s Estate and his family.
“Mr. Williams does not reside in Horry County, is not from Horry County ... therefore except for being contacted and dealing with the Horry County Police in their official capacity, he does not know any member of the Horry County Police and has not had any other contact with members of the Horry County Police.”
Boyd’s attorney, Ken Moss, didn’t return multiple messages seeking comment.
Strickland’s attorney acknowledges his client’s friendship with Boyd.
However, von Herrmann said that Strickland recused himself from the Spivey case and “had nothing to do with it.” He said the only thing Strickland is guilty of is “being a good friend (to someone) who was in a time of need.”
“It tears Brandon (Strickland) apart that he can’t stand on the roof and yell, ‘I didn’t do anything wrong,’” von Herrmann said.
How did this new evidence appear and spark another criminal investigation
Last month, Horry County Police Chief Kris Leonhardt announced that the department has requested the case be reviewed once again by both the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the FBI. SLED has confirmed it is investigating Strickland as it pertains to the Spivey investigation.
Strickland was deputy chief of the administration bureau, which includes the criminal investigations division, at the time of the shooting. The criminal investigations unit investigated the killing of Spivey.
Mark Tinsley, the attorney for Spivey’s family, said he provided all the recordings to SLED and the FBI.
Tinsley said by text that “when Horry County called for an investigation, it was not due to ongoing concerns from the community or whatever the statement claimed. The call for an investigation came as a result of damning evidence which I do not believe has ever been considered and indicates an outright impropriety related to the death of Scott Spivey.
“None of this evidence was hidden from the people who were charged with or undertook whatever investigation there was,” Tinsley said. “All of it was right there in the files we obtained from law enforcement, both SLED’s file and Horry County’s. I think it’s going to be a hard question to answer as far as why the actual evidence was missed or ignored.”
Von Herrmann said that Strickland didn’t know of any criminal investigation when he resigned and hoped to return to the department. Strickland is cooperating fully with authorities, von Herrmann said.
SLED is not re-opening the investigation into the death of Spivey at this time, said SLED spokesperson Renée Wunderlich Thursday by email. SLED reviewed the case in 2024 and determined that there was not enough evidence to charge the two men involved in the shooting.
Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov previously said by text that Strickland was not one of the officers investigating the shooting but would not provide additional information.
Spivey’s family claims that the investigation into his death was not conducted correctly and that Boyd’s connections within the Horry County Police Department and government influenced the outcome of the case.
When asked about the family’s allegations, Leonhardt said in an email statement on March 27, 2025, that “Horry County Police Department is committed to holding officers and staff to the highest standards. All officers and staff are advised and regularly reminded of the expected standards, and any violations can result in disciplinary action of varying levels.
“As cases come into the department, they are reviewed by multiple team members. If an employee has a personal connection with a case, they are commanded to report that information so they can be reassigned to another case.
“Through these actions, it is HCPD’s aim to reassure community members that the agency holds its personnel to the highest standards. As evident in the recent employee separations, any infractions that call the agency’s trustworthiness into question will be handled swiftly by HCPD Command.”
Phone calls reveal friendships with officers
Boyd’s relationship with law enforcement is not a secret. There are several photos of Boyd with various law enforcement officials and his restaurant regularly hosts events to support both county and city police and fire departments, as well as donating money and equipment.
But Boyd and Strickland appear to be close friends.
On the night of the shooting, Boyd, who sounds panicked, called Strickland, asking him to come to Camp Swamp Road. The conversation is among 90 audio recordings from Boyd’s phone that were given to Spivey’s family in their civil lawsuit.
However, Jennifer Foley, Spivey’s sister, only played a handful of recordings for The Sun News.
Foley’s family shared some information to show the inaccuracies and involvement of officials in the case, she said.
Foley has pushed for answers in her brother’s death, refusing to accept that the shooting was in self-defense. Foley filed a wrongful death lawsuit in 2024 against Boyd and Williams.
“I just want a fair look at the law, what occurred and how does the law apply to that,” she said. “(Law enforcement) never tried to find what was Scott’s side of the story. That’s the only thing we ever asked for is the truth.”
Von Herrmann is aware that there are recordings of Strickland’s conversations with Boyd and has had a chance to review some of them. He has not, however, heard all of them as of April 16, 2025. Unredacted copies of the recordings have been requested, von Herrmann said.
Strickland’s attorney said that the conversations need to be listened to as a whole. “It doesn’t sound good if you listen to one blurb or tape,” von Herrmann said.
Von Herrmann admits that Strickland may have said things “more freely,” but Strickland, or anyone else, did not work behind the scenes “to alter the evidence or change the outcome of the investigation.”
In one of the audio tapes shared by Foley, Boyd made a call to Strickland shortly after the shooting that occurred at 6:04 p.m. Sept. 9, 2023. Boyd can be heard telling Strickland, “I had to shoot somebody.”
Strickland responds that he would not go to the scene because he wanted to “be careful” with the investigation and didn’t want a conflict of interest because they were friends. He tells Boyd that if the shooting happened the way he said it did, then he should be fine.
About 10 minutes later, Strickland calls back and says that other officers are coming and “that keeps it clean.”
The day after the shooting, Strickland calls Boyd at 9 a.m. He apologizes for not being able to be there. Strickland then says, “I’ll tell you what happened after you called me. Now this is Brandon-Weldon never to be spoken of again. I called my people and the detectives that met with you last night, Alan Jones. ... Well, that’s who I sent out there and I called the captain over the investigations and I told him who you were. And then my next call was to Jimmy Richardson … You were taken care of.”
Strickland goes on to say, “I was in the shadows last night. I wasn’t there, but I was in the shadows.”
The deputy chief goes on to say that a friend involved in the investigation said that “unofficially, you’re good to go.”
On Sept. 10, 2023, Strickland calls Boyd and says, “I got a phone call from an official... in our county that you also know and that you are a supporter of and he told me to just sit back and relax that you are good to go.”
“It’s making me out to be a murderer,” Boyd replies back.
In yet another phone call with Boyd, Strickland can be heard in the recording telling him to stay off Facebook and keep a low profile. He says, “If I thought you had something to worry about, I’d tell you. I’m telling you, you have nothing to worry about.”
In another call with a family member, Boyd says that Strickland told him that if there were any warrants for his arrest that they had to go through him.
Strickland also tells Boyd that he called his captain. The captain is believed to be Mick Kathman, who was captain of the Criminal Investigations Division that investigated the Spivey case. Kathman was recently promoted to deputy chief after Strickland’s resignation.
Moskov would not say whether Kathman was on scene during the shooting or if he took part in the investigation. Because of the ongoing SLED review, Moskov said by text that she could not reveal further details of the case.
Foley said that Kathman was part of meetings with the family during the initial investigation of her brother’s death.
A text message obtained from the civil suit between Boyd and his mother on Sept. 10, 2023, the day after the shooting, Boyd responds to his mother’s question about releasing a statement regarding the shooting. He says that his attorney Ken Moss and Brandon Strickland “both agree to wait until they close the investigation before making the statement. ... If we wait till they close it then the PD will tell the media it was a justified homicide, self defense situation and I’ll look better.”
In a later text on Sept. 11, 2023, to Boyd, Strickland tells him that, “At the end of the day, the law is the law, and your rights are your rights. People try to put pressure on departments all the time but we don’t bend to pressure, we do what’s right by the law.”
Boyd also responds to a text on Sept. 11, 2023, from whom appears to be one of his employees, asking if the restaurant is safe. “Cops are watching buoys behind the scenes. That was offered to me. Alot of people in high up places have made sure yall and my family are safe until this clears. I’m cleared for self defense they are even saying Bradley (Williams) and I saved other people’s lives.”
County and city leaders communicated with people in case
Other government officials have had contact with the parties of this case.
Two Horry County council members met with family members and police investigators a few weeks after the shooting in 2023 to receive information about the case.
Council member Danny Hardee told The Sun News that he had attended the meeting with family and police at the request of some family members who live in his district. Hardee, at the time, said there have been questions and rumors surrounding the case.
The second council member was believed to be Mark Causey, whose district includes where the shooting occurred. However, Causey never returned messages asking about his attendance and Moskov declined to say who was at the meeting.
A Freedom of Information Act from 2023 request showed that council members did not receive any emails or phone calls regarding the Spivey case to prompt the meeting.
Documents showing Boyd’s text messages in the days after the shooting of Spivey were provided by the family, who received them as part of the civil lawsuit against Boyd. In those messages, one North Myrtle Beach city council member has a conversation with Boyd.
Jay Baldwin, a North Myrtle Beach council member, texted Boyd on Sept. 12, 2023, about the shooting. During the conversation, Boyd replies, “There are many rumors going around, some of which were started in city hall.”
Baldwin texts back that he has heard “many different things and while I understand that rumors fly I am shocked that people will make things up that may hurt other innocent people especially in a case like this.
“We have the right to defend ourselves and no one should ever be accosted when they have to actually do it. I am glad to meet with you any time. You just let me know.”
Boyd replies back by saying, “Let the investigation get closed out and me and Ken (Moss) will sit down PRIVATELY with you. No phones, no recordings.”
Baldwin says, “OK, I am glad to do that.”
When contacted April 3, 2025, Baldwin said he didn’t remember communicating with Boyd after the shooting. Baldwin said he did see Boyd at his restaurant after the shooting and he did talk about that night.
Baldwin said he has not heard any rumors about the Spivey case at City Hall, adding, “I don’t know any facts about the case.”
Baldwin’s relationship with Boyd has only involved issues with the city, including flooding around his restaurant, he said.
“That is how I know Weldon (Boyd),” Baldwin said. “I have gone down and helped him out, just like I would anybody.”
In a phone call between Boyd and Williams, Boyd tells Williams that 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson allegedly told his attorney Ken Moss that “in my opinion those boys are heroes,” adding that Richardson said the two men followed Spivey to make sure that no one else was hurt.
Boyd also tells his parents in another phone call that “Jimmy (Richardson) is involved and Brandon (Strickland) is involved and this is all being done to make sure I’m being taken care of.”
An emailed statement from the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office on Thursday said that solicitors do not provide information regarding the decision to charge or not charge an individual, adding that the decision is up to the police agency.
“Even though we are told that there are hours of recorded conversations from Mr. Boyd’s phone, there are absolutely no recordings of anyone in the Solicitor’s office on those tapes,” the statement said. “Nor are there any recordings of anyone from the Solicitor’s office ever making a statement to or about either Mr. Boyd or Mr. Spivey.”
A member of the Solicitor’s Office did go to the shooting scene, which was at the request of Horry County Police and was standard protocol, the statement said.
Richardson recused himself early on in the case because of a statement released by Boyd on his Facebook page, thanking police officers and the Solicitor’s Office.
Richardson asked the state Attorney General’s Office for a review of the case. Richardson named Boyd in a letter that he sent to the state Attorney General’s Office Sept. 15, 2023. Richardson said previously that he asked for the review so that there wouldn’t be any issues of impropriety.
The Attorney General’s Office later ruled that there was no evidence to charge the two shooters and closed the case.
‘Considerable information’ found
Foley said she is not excusing what her brother did that day.
Boyd and Williams, as well as several witnesses, claim that Spivey waved at gun at them and other drivers along Highway 9. Boyd told police that Spivey pointed a gun at him and ran him off the road. Boyd called 911 about Spivey’s actions and then followed him for 9 miles to Camp Swamp Road where the shooting occurred.
“I don’t want any other family to go through this,” she said. “This is going to happen to somebody else. Somebody else’s family is going to have to go through the same thing, and there’s not going to be anybody there to fight for them.”
The family didn’t find out about Scott’s death until two hours later. They were never contacted by police, Foley said. In addition, Foley said her brother lay dead in his truck for six hours before officers tended to him after towing the truck with the body still inside back to a police station.
Tinsley said they have found “considerable information” during the wrongful death lawsuit and have relayed it to authorities.
“They felt so much like it was self-defense that it was an easy cut and dry case that they didn’t need to do any investigation and that’s what hurts the most,” Foley said, “because there’s now evidence that we can’t bring back that would have helped solve this.”
This story was originally published April 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
