Domestic violence charges against former CCU golf coach McPherson of Conway dropped

Domestic violence charges against former Coastal Carolina men’s golf coach Kevin McPherson have been dismissed.

Fifteenth Circuit assistant solicitor Jonathan Miles chose to dismiss the charges due to insufficient evidence to take the case to trial, according to solicitor Jimmy Richardson.

“Right now I’m just relieved this is behind us,” said McPherson, who learned of the dismissal Tuesday. “It’s been a 15-month nightmare. I’m looking forward to moving on with my life and being who I am.”

McPherson was arrested June 15, 2016, on charges of misdemeanor second-degree domestic violence against Cheris Yost, his then wife of two years. The charge was lessened to third-degree in September 2016.

McPherson’s attorney, Amy Lawrence of The Lovely Law Firm, said penalties for a second-degree conviction are a sentence of up to 3 years and fine between $2,500 and $5,000, and penalties for a third-degree conviction are up to nine months in jail and a fine between $1,000 and $2,500.

McPherson coached the Coastal men’s golf team for three seasons and initially was suspended indefinitely by the school following his arrest. CCU chose not to renew his contract for a fourth season later last summer.

McPherson, 37, is a Conway native who played for the Conway High and Belmont Abbey College golf teams. He took over the CCU men’s program in September 2013, a few weeks after the resignation of Allen Terrell following 13 years leading the program.

Prior to his hire at CCU, McPherson spent the prior two seasons as the head men’s coach at Augusta State and was part of the Jaguars’ back-to-back NCAA Championships in 2010 and 2011 as an assistant coach. He additionally served as the Jaguars’ head women’s coach from 2008-11 and was a two-year assistant coach at Central Florida.

McPherson said he has found employment, though not in coaching, to pay bills over the past year, but he’s unsure of his future career path.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do right now, whether it’s coaching down the road or not,” McPherson said. “I wanted to get this behind me first. I’m just happy to be moving on with my life, starting from scratch.”

McPherson and Yost divorced in April.

Yost accused McPherson of assaulting her at a private boat landing in Murrells Inlet following a verbal argument last June.

She alleges in the police incident report that McPherson grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the deck of a boat, then threw her, causing the right side of her face to strike the boat.

The police report stated she had swelling to the right side of her face, a black eye and red marks on the right side of her neck — alleged injuries that were photographed at the scene. The black eye was evident at McPherson’s hearing later that morning.

McPherson was taken into custody at his parents’ home in Murrells Inlet shortly after the alleged incident.

Lawrence said McPherson alleges Yost had been drinking alcohol and sustained injuries to her face when she fell in the boat looking for her cellphone.

Yost told The Sun News she wanted the case to go to trial and was disappointed in the prosecutor’s decision.

She said she met with three different assistant solicitors on three different occasions to discuss her case, and said both she and McPherson passed polygraph lie-detector tests.

“This has been a tough road to travel, the toughest I’ve ever had to walk,” Yost said. “I felt it was of the utmost importance to not let the seriousness of domestic violence be silenced once again.”

Yost said she is committed to becoming an advocate to domestic abuse victims in the future.

“I’m determined to serve any other person in this same setting that I possibly can for the rest of my life,” Yost said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2017 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Domestic violence charges against former CCU golf coach McPherson of Conway dropped."