Who’s mentioned in calls detailing deadly shooting of Scott Spivey? At least 7 SC leaders
At least seven South Carolina and Horry County leaders were mentioned in phone calls by a North Myrtle Beach restaurant owner who detailed how he shot and killed a North Carolina man in 2023.
Some of the calls by Weldon Boyd, owner of Buoys on the Boulevard and one of the two shooters who killed Scott Spivey, highlight Boyd’s alleged connections to state and county leaders and his efforts to use those connections to make sure he would not be charged in the death, which was ruled a homicide.
Boyd and the second shooter, Kenneth “Bradley” Williams, have not been charged in the shooting that occurred on Camp Swamp Road in the Longs area in September 2023. The shooting was ruled self-defense.
The audio recordings of Boyd were recently released by the family of Scott Spivey. The recordings were part of a wrongful death case filed by the family against Boyd and Williams.
The highest ranking official mentioned is state Rep. William Bailey, who is the Republican representative for District 104 in Horry County.
In a phone call with his mother and Williams, Boyd says that Bailey was going to recognize the two men as “heroes” and award them a proclamation that would be presented at the Statehouse. The information allegedly came from his attorney, Ken Moss, Boyd said in the recording.
“(Bailey is) going to try to get us a proclamation for bravery where we are going to have to go Columbia and dress nice and be awarded a proclamation for Second Amendment,” Boyd tells Williams. “Ken (Moss) said he’s going to make us look like heroes before this thing is over.”
Bailey said April 25, 2025, that he was asked to do a proclamation, but “It was never considered by me. ... There was no way I could justify that to myself.”
“It was a tragic situation,” Bailey said of Spivey’s death. Bailey said he would never consider such a proclamation when a death was involved.
Bailey does not know Boyd or any of the police officers involved in the case, he said. His only connection is with Moss, who at one time had been Bailey’s attorney.
When talking about receiving the proclamation, Boyd also mentions North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley. Boyd says that Hatley will be given an opportunity to present the city business owner with the award, but she will decline to do so.
Boyd over the years has had a contentious relationship with the City of North Myrtle Beach and its leaders, particularly Hatley.
Hatley was surprised when she found out that she, and her son, Chad Hatley, a real estate developer, were mentioned in Boyd’s recordings. Chad Hatley is married to Myrtle Beach City Council member Jackie Hatley.
Hatley said she has listened to some of the calls, but not any where her name was spoken.
“This has nothing to do with me and my family,” Hatley said. “It’s a tragedy what happened. I don’t have anything to do with anything.
“I really don’t appreciate it. Why they want to drag my name through the mud, I have no idea.”
Hatley was not the only North Myrtle Beach council member to be mentioned.
Recordings also showed conversations between North Myrtle Beach Councilman Jay Baldwin and Boyd.
Baldwin reached out to Boyd days after the shooting. However, Baldwin previously said his only relationship with Boyd was as a constituent.
Boyd also talked about Harold Worley, who served on the council since 1999 before losing his seat in 2022 to current council member Jenna Dukes.
Boyd’s mother and father tell him in several phone calls to reach out to Worley to let him know about the shooting and provide him updates in the case.
Worley is Boyd’s landlord, owning both the property, building and all the contents in Buoys on the Boulevard, Worley said. The restaurant is located along Ocean Boulevard just off of Main Street in North Myrtle Beach.
Worley was not aware he was part of the recordings, but did say Boyd’s mother contacted him about the shooting. Worley said he does more business with Boyd’s parents than Boyd.
When asked if he planned to help Boyd in the case, Worley replied that he had no connections, and that he would remain “legal and above board.”
“I have to look after my stuff. ... I’m not going to be around any illegal activities,” Worley said, adding that he hasn’t seen any illegal activity at the restaurant.
In the audio recordings, Boyd makes a point to talk about connections with various law enforcement officials.
Boyd tells Williams in one call that 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson told his attorney the two shooters were heroes for killing Spivey “because this guy was a danger to everyone around him and when everybody else pulled over and backed off or fled, they followed to make sure a police officer could find him.”
The Horry County solicitor recused himself early on the case, asking the state Attorney General’s Office to review the case.
In addition to the county’s top prosecutor, Boyd lists other law enforcement, including a county judge, which he does not name, and Horry County Police officers. One of those officers is Brandon Strickland, who was the deputy chief of the administration bureau at the time of the shooting.
Strickland and Boyd have a close relationship, and Strickland can be heard the night of the shooting and the day after, assuring Boyd that he “was taken care of” and that he had been working “in the shadows” to help with the investigation.
Strickland resigned from the department on March 11, 2025. Horry County Police said his resignation came after he was told of an internal investigation regarding his role in the case.
Strickland is also under investigation by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for criminal activity regarding the Spivey shooting case.
