Jennifer Spivey Foley made an impassioned speech in front of Horry County Council on Tuesday, May 6, asking the elected body to push for the reopening of the investigation into her brother鈥檚 death.
Dozens of people filled the seats in council chambers to support Foley and her mission for justice.
鈥淭onight my family and I stand before you to advocate for your insistence on justice,鈥 Foley said.
Scott Spivey was shot dead in a September 2023 road rage shooting on Camp Swamp Road in the Loris area.
No charges have been filed, but two Horry County Police Department employees are no longer with the department since Foley and independent journalists uncovered new revelations in the case in the past few months, thanks to discovery from a wrongful death lawsuit filed by Foley. On Wednesday, the department announced three more officers were disciplined due to policy violations.
Body camera footage was recently shared with news outlets that shows a former HCPD sergeant writing a message on a notepad that reads 鈥淎ct like a victim鈥 followed by 鈥渃amera.鈥 The officer then appears to show the message to one of the shooters at the scene. That officer was fired by the police department last week. A deputy chief had already resigned in March.
Jennifer Spivey Foley speaks in front of Horry County Council Tuesday, May 6, 2025, where she asked council to push for the reopening of the investigation into the 2023 shooting death of her brother, Scott Spivey.
During Tuesday鈥檚 meeting, Foley asked that county leaders demand that S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster appoint a special prosecutor independent from the S.C. Attorney General鈥檚 Office.聽
鈥淲e will continue to advocate for Scott鈥檚 case to be reopened with a thorough investigation by an honest prosecutor who is willing to actually review all the evidence, apply South Carolina鈥檚 laws to the actions of that day,鈥 Foley said. 鈥淲e are only asking for them to do the job they are sworn to do. We ask that you demand the governor to appoint a special prosecutor independent of the AG鈥檚 office. He has the power to do that.鈥
Spivey was shot and found dead in his truck on Camp Swamp Road on Sept. 9, 2023, after being followed for miles by Weldon Boyd and Kenneth Williams.聽
Boyd, who owns Buoy鈥檚 on the Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach and Bonnie Bay Blueberry Farm in Loris, claims he shot Spivey in self defense because Spivey was allegedly waving a gun while driving on Highway 9.聽
Boyd called 911 while following Spivey and told the dispatcher that 鈥淚鈥檝e got a guy pointing a gun at me driving. We鈥檙e armed as well. He keeps throwing the gun in our faces acting like he鈥檚 about to shoot us. If he keeps this up, I am gonna shoot him.鈥
Boyd has not responded to requests for comment regarding the shooting.
The wrongful death lawsuit filed by Foley alleges that Spivey was followed for more than six minutes by Boyd and Williams before Boyd called 911. The pending suit claims that Boyd was tailgating Spivey closely.
During the 911 call, Boyd also told the dispatcher 鈥渉e鈥檚 trying to run from me now.鈥 But Boyd and Williams pursued until Spivey turned onto Camp Swamp Road and exited his vehicle.聽
An HCPD police report describes Spivey being found slumped over the center console in his vehicle holding a gun 鈥渨ith the slide locked,鈥 which means a gun鈥檚 magazine is empty. Foley鈥檚 lawsuit describes Boyd and Williams 鈥渒illing [Spivey] in a hail of gunfire.鈥
Boyd claiming self defense after following the person he was supposedly defending himself from for miles doesn鈥檛 sit right with Foley.
鈥淭he [S.C. Attorney General] told my family that nothing mattered prior to the incident that happened on Camp Swamp Road. It did not matter that Boyd and Williams chased my brother at speeds close to or over 100 miles per hour for nine miles,鈥 Foley said. 鈥淗ow can they not consider that when you clearly hear the shooter say they have their guns drawn too right from the beginning?鈥
After Foley鈥檚 plea, county council chairman Johnny Gardner thanked her for speaking and said the Horry County legislative delegation had written a letter similar to the one he wrote to McMaster.聽
The letter from the local legislative delegation asks that the case be reopened and that all new evidence that has been uncovered be considered. Nine South Carolina representatives signed the letter dated May 6.聽
鈥淲hile we have the utmost respect for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and Horry County Police Department, many of our constituents believe the incident was prematurely deemed self-defense,鈥 the letter reads.聽
Foley said the S.C. Attorney General鈥檚 Office had stopped returning her calls.聽
鈥淲hat the hangup for me is the assistant attorney general鈥檚 unwillingness to look at all the evidence when you have circuit court judges that have made rulings on self defense in this state that will not allow those things that happened on that road to be stand your ground,鈥 Foley said.
County councilman Danny Hardee briefly spoke Tuesday after Foley.
鈥淚n my opinion, if the attorney general doesn鈥檛 give you an answer or some direction, I鈥檇 highly advise him not to politic in Horry County,鈥 Hardee said.
Issues within HCPD
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division took over the shooting investigation shortly after the incident. The case was conflicted out from the Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor鈥檚 Office to the Attorney General鈥檚 Office, which said there was no basis for prosecution. Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson wrote a letter asking the AG鈥檚 office to take over the investigation after Boyd made a Facebook post thanking HCPD and the solicitor鈥檚 office for their work on the case.
HCPD鈥檚 initial investigation into the case has been riddled with controversy, leading to the recent departure of two HCPD officers. HCPD has an ongoing internal affairs investigation. No criminal charges have been filed related to the shooting or officers鈥 handling of the investigation.
HCPD Chief聽Kris Leonhardt said during a Wednesday, May 7, press conference that the department has created a internal affairs team to review the case for misconduct or policy violations.
Leonhardt also said they have identified seven dash cameras that were mislabeled. He added that more disciplinary action could follow as the internal affairs investigation continues.
Brandon Strickland, former Horry County Police Department deputy chief of the operations bureau, resigned in March after he was informed of an internal affairs investigation regarding policy violations, according to separation papers sent from HCPD to the Criminal Justice Academy. Strickland had been pictured with Boyd on occasion, including a picture together on a hunting trip and after Boyd donated tactical belts to the department.聽
SLED is investigating Strickland鈥檚 conduct in regards to the Spivey shooting, a spokesperson confirmed.
Former patrol division sergeant Paul Damon Vescovi was fired in late April for 鈥渃onduct unbecoming of an officer,鈥 though HCPD leaders did not share at a press conference what that conduct was or whether other officers were under investigation.聽
Criminal Justice Academy separation paperwork states Vescovi also violated Horry County Government鈥檚 policy on conduct on or off duty that has a negative impact on the county and conduct that causes embarrassment.
The paperwork states there is a pending criminal investigation on Vescovi.
Bodycam footage was before Vescovi鈥檚 firing that shows him responding to Camp Swamp Road and telling Boyd鈥檚 attorney on the phone that the incident 鈥渟ounds like self defense鈥 before showing Boyd a note which read 鈥渁ct like a victim - camera.鈥 The message was briefly picked up by Vescovi鈥檚 body-worn camera.
鈥淲e will continue to pursue the truth in this incident,鈥 Leonhardt said at a recent press conference. 鈥淎ny of those found to be in violation of policy or law will be held accountable. Misconduct will not be tolerated at HCPD, regardless of when it occurred, and we remain committed to upholding the highest standards moving forward.鈥
Horry County鈥檚 top administrator Barry Spivey asked in a letter April 17 that SLED reopen the deadly shooting case. In a separate letter sent the same day, Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner asked South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to find an outside agency to investigate the case, citing an apparent conflict of interest.
鈥淯nfortunately, yesterday it was brought to our attention that SLED is now maintaining the position that they have not been the lead investigating agency on this case,鈥 Gardner wrote. 鈥淭his concerns us because we still have the apparent conflict of interest and we are of the opinion that HCPD should not investigate the case.鈥
SLED has not responded to requests for comment on reopening the case.
Foley has also raised concerns about how her brother鈥檚 body was transported to the Horry County Coroner鈥檚 Office the day of the shooting.聽
The Horry County Coroner's Office confirmed in April that Spivey's body was transported in his vehicle to the HCPD impound yard because inclement weather was expected.
鈥淭his allowed the Deputy Coroner, the crime scene officers and detectives to carefully and methodically remove all evidence from the vehicle without the threat of weather complicating the process,鈥 deputy coroner Tamara Willard said in an email. 鈥淭he Coroner鈥檚 Office will periodically permit transport of a decedent in a vehicle when it is necessary, though it is rare. The decision to transport a decedent in a vehicle is not taken lightly, this is a collaborative conversation in which all investigating agencies agree, based upon the case at hand.
鈥淪ome of the reasons for such a decision include the need to preserve evidence, severe or impending weather issues, the condition of a decedents body, etc,鈥 she wrote.
As more details about the case have slowly become public in the 19 months since the shooting, Foley hopes the renewed attention to the case will lead to justice for her brother.
鈥淭he truth is Scott鈥檚 case never had a chance from the beginning,鈥 Foley said. 鈥淚ts outcome was determined before the real investigation ever got started. All we ever asked for is a fair, true and just investigation.鈥
(1) comment
Anyone with a brain knows this case should be reopened.
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