SC men who shot, killed NC man in Longs have first court hearing. What happened
The sister of a North Carolina man killed in a hail of gunfire along a Horry County road two years ago faced one of the shooters for the first time Monday during a court hearing in the family’s wrongful death lawsuit.
Monday’s proceedings were a preview of the larger Stand Your Ground hearing in the case that is expected to be heard in December. The law stands at the center of the shooting that police labeled a road rage incident, attracting national attention and allegations of police misconduct by Horry County Police, which originally investigated the case.
Judge Eugene Griffith Jr. heard a flurry of motions filed by North Myrtle Beach businessman Weldon Boyd and his friend Kenneth “Bradley” Williams related to the lawsuit in which they are defendants. The suit was filed by the family of Scott Spivey, a 33-year-old North Carolina man who was killed in a hail of gunfire on Sept. 9, 2023, along Camp Swamp Road just off of Highway 9 in the Longs area.
Boyd did not attend Monday’s hearing. Williams sat behind his attorney, next to Boyd’s mother and father as evidence, including 911 calls, was presented during the hearing. Williams hung his head or looked at the ceiling during the playing of the calls from witnesses.
It was the first time that Spivey’s sister, Jennifer Foley, had seen in person one of the men who killed her brother, although they sat on opposite sides of the Horry County courtroom.
Foley, who has led the charge in seeking justice for her brother and bringing attention to law enforcement’s interpretation of the state’s Stand Your Ground law, sat with her mother. She, too, hung her head and became emotional during the hearing. Her mother placed her arm around her daughter in an effort to comfort her.
Williams declined to comment after the hearing, directing questions to his attorney.
The hearing primarily focused on the defense’s motion for the judge to allow 911 tapes and witness statements from the night of the shooting as admissible evidence. If granted, it would mean that witnesses to the shooting would not have to testify or be cross-examined in court.
Griffith said he would take the motion into consideration.
Can witness statements be enough in hearing?
It appears that some of the witnesses to the 2023 shooting have not been cooperative when it comes to participating in depositions by attorneys.
Attorneys on both sides told Griffith that they were unable to talk to two of the main witnesses.
Ken Moss, attorney for Boyd, alluded to the fact that podcasters on social media may have caused the witnesses to not want to talk. Moss said that the witnesses were attacked on social media, including being called liars about what they claim they saw the night of the shooting.
Attorneys for both Boyd and Williams asked the judge to allow 911 recordings and witness statements, which they claim are public records of Horry County and include each caller’s identification, be submitted as evidence.
This would allow reliance on the statements instead of having the witnesses appear in court and be questioned in person about what they saw.
Allowing such information can be considered hearsay, which prevents a witness from reporting what someone else said.
Mark Tinsley, attorney for the Spivey family, argued against allowing the 911 calls and witness statements, adding that at least one of the witnesses repeatedly had said that she didn’t see the shooting.
Judge Griffith was reluctant to issue subpoenas for the witnesses, stating that he hoped attorneys could again reach out to them and get them to testify willingly.
“Hope is still there?” the judge asked the attorneys.
“I don’t have that much hope,” Morgan Martin, attorney for Williams, said about getting the witnesses to testify.
Griffith said he wants to help the families on both sides find closure.
“That’s what I want is closure for the families,” Griffith said.
Shooter asks for delay of case
Williams had asked for a stay of the suit, which was filed in June 2024, for fear that he may be a “target” of an ongoing law enforcement investigation by SLED of the HCPD, according to the motion that was later withdrawn.
The motion claims SLED’s investigation of one or more officers of the HCPD is based on the “insistence” of Foley and her attorneys, as well as Horry County Council and state legislators.
It has not been made clear if SLED’s investigation into HCPD’s alleged misconduct involving the shooting is complete, and what, if any, findings have been made.
SLED spokeswoman Renee Wunderlich has previously said that the investigation is still open.
What will happen at Stand Your Ground hearing?
Boyd and Williams were never charged in the deadly shooting of the Tabor City man after the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office ruled it self-defense in relation to the state’s Protection of Persons and Property Act, commonly referred to as the “Stand Your Ground” law.
The law allows people to use force without attempting to retreat when faced with an assault within their home, or anywhere a person is legally allowed to be.
The Stand Your Ground hearing in the civil case would determine if Boyd and Williams are entitled to civil and criminal immunity related to their actions during the shooting.
One item that the judge may consider is that Boyd followed Spivey for nine miles along Highway 9 before the fatal shooting occurred. Police reports show the confrontation first began when Spivey was driving erratically, waving his gun outside his truck window and pointing his gun at Boyd and Williams.
Boyd called 911, telling the dispatcher that “if he keeps this up, I’m going to shoot him.” The two men followed Spivey until he pulled off onto Camp Swamp Road, where Boyd and Williams claim he got out of his truck and shot at them before they returned fire.
Spivey was found dead from a gunshot wound in his vehicle.
Spivey’s family believes Boyd’s relationship with Horry County Police officers, some of whom he was friends with, affected the shooting investigation. Evidence uncovered in the lawsuit, including recordings of Boyd’s phone calls in the aftermath of the shooting, has already led to two high-ranking Horry County police officers losing their jobs and letters from county council and local state legislators asking Gov. Henry McMaster to consider reopening the case. Three other unnamed HCPD officers also faced disciplined for mishandling evidence in the case, Chief Kris Leonhardt said at a news conference.
The Attorney General’s Office was asked to review the case after Horry County’s solicitor recused himself. The AG’s Office declined to charge Boyd and Williams, or reopen the case. However, two months ago, Attorney General Alan Wilson asked the 8th Circuit Court Solicitor Barry Barnette to review SLED’s case against HCPD.
Wilson, who is running for South Carolina governor, has been criticized by at least one of his opponents for the handling of Spivey’s case.
This story was originally published November 17, 2025 at 4:52 PM.
