SC businessman involved in deadly shooting blames attorney for ‘media firestorm’
A North Myrtle Beach businessman who was involved in a deadly shooting of a North Carolina man three years ago is now suing the family’s attorney, claiming the lawyer engaged in false narratives about the shooting to boost “his celebrity status.”
Weldon Boyd, owner of Buoys on the Boulevard, filed the suit against attorney Mark Tinsley, who is representing the family of Scott Spivey in a wrongful death lawsuit against Boyd.
Boyd claims that Tinsley “manufactured, disseminated, and perpetuated a false narrative through manipulative use of media outlets” and that Tinsley did so intentionally so he could increase his celebrity status. The result of Tinsley’s “media firestorm” has “permanently harmed” Boyd’s chances of receiving a fair trial in any court in the state, according to the suit.
“I won’t be bullied,” Tinsley said by text Tuesday, “especially by the likes of Weldon Boyd.”
Boyd seeks a trial for a declaratory judgment against Tinsley. The suit says that Boyd is waiving any claim of damages against the attorney, seeking equitable relief only, which requires a person to stop doing something rather than paying money.
Boyd’s suit comes more than a month before a judge is expected to conduct a Stand Your Ground hearing to determine whether the wrongful death lawsuit against him and another man can move forward. The two men shot and killed Spivey after what police say was a road rage incident between the three men.
The two men were never charged with Spivey’s death and the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office ruled that it was self-defense based on the South Carolina Stand Your Ground law.
Boyd and his friend, Kenneth “Bradley” Williams were involved in an exchange of gunfire with Spivey along Camp Swamp Road off of Highway 9 on Sept. 9, 2023. The two men followed Spivey for about nine miles before the shooting took place, claiming that the 33-year-old Tabor City man had waved and pointed a gun at them as well as other drivers while traveling along Highway 9.
Boyd’s lawsuit details his and Williams’, as well as Spivey’s, actions that day. Boyd claims in the lawsuit that Spivey engaged in a road rage incident that he “singlehandedly initiated” where “he stalked and assaulted Boyd and others on the public highways.”
Boyd called 911 about 5:54 p.m. asking for assistance, stating, “Y’all need to get this guy off the road. He’s aiming guns at people.” Spivey then turned down Camp Swamp Road, stopped his vehicle in the middle of the road, leapt from his vehicle, pointed a pistol at Boyd’s vehicle where the two men remained and fired his weapon, the suit said. Boyd and his passenger were in imminent mortal danger and fear for their lives, the suit said.
The case was ruled Stand Your Ground because the two men never exited their vehicle during the shooting.
Boyd blames Tinsley’s “misconduct” regarding the Spivey shooting for the state Attorney General assigning a new solicitor on Oct. 3, 2025, to review the investigation.
The suit says that Tinsley and his agents directly and indirectly pressured public officials, lobbying for law enforcement to reopen its investigation of Boyd and asserting that criminal charges should be brought against him.
The shooting was initially investigated by the Horry County Police department. The Attorney General’s Office was asked to review the case after 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson recused himself. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division also reviewed the case.
Spivey’s family raised several concerns about HCPD’s handling of the case and alleged misconduct by officers, many of them who were friends with Boyd. The family, led by Spivey’s sister Jennifer Foley, filed the wrongful death lawsuit against Boyd and Williams in 2024, claiming that Boyd’s relationship with Horry County Police officers may have affected the case.
Boyd’s lawsuit claims that Tinsley and his agents released to the media non-public information, adding that Tinsley co-opted the “public’s appetite for rooting out perceived public corruption” to increase his celebrity status.
Tinsley had previously raised his public profile and celebrity significantly by similar actions in connection with a scandal involving Alex Murdaugh, a now-disbarred lawyer who was convicted of killing his wife and son in June 2021, which was covered insatiably by media outlets with Tinsley’s active participation and full cooperation, the lawsuit said.
