Trial date set for former Horry deputies who drove sheriff’s van women drowned in
A date has been set for the criminal trial of two former Horry County Sheriff’s Office deputies who were charged in the deaths of two women in their custody.
Stephen Flood, the deputy who was allegedly behind the wheel, is charged with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Joshua Bishop, the other deputy in the van, faces two counts of involuntary manslaughter. Flood and Bishop were fired from the Horry County Sheriff’s Office in October 2018.
Solicitor Ed Clements told WPDE -TV on Tuesday he intends to call Flood and Bishop for trial the week of Nov. 8.
He said the two men will be tried together unless a motion for severance of the trials is made and granted, according to WPDE.
Sept. 18, 2018, Nicolette Green and Wendy Newton drowned in a caged compartment in the back of an Horry County Sheriff’s Office van after Flood and Bishop allegedly drove the vehicle through Hurricane Florence floodwaters despite a supervisor’s orders. The women were being transported to a mental health facility.
The Sun News published a story last week about the delay in the criminal trial of the former deputies, whose trial will come more than three years after the deaths of Green and Newton.
The criminal trial has been delayed in part because of a backlog aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing issues at the Solicitor’s Office, 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements told The Sun News this month.
Ten murder cases are on the docket awaiting trial ahead of the former Horry County sheriff’s deputies, Clements said at the time.
“They’re pending and on the docket. We’ve got, unfortunately, a lot of cases ahead of them,” Clements said. “We’re stacked up, particularly on murders.”
In South Carolina, reckless homicide can carry a sentence of up to 10 years. Involuntary manslaughter is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Flood and Bishop each posted their $5,000 bond Jan. 4, 2019, according to Marion County court records. Both men have been out of jail for more than two years, awaiting their criminal trials.
The Marion County public index shows Flood and Bishop had preliminary hearings April 15, 2019. That was the last court action taken in the case.
