Three men have been arrested by agents of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) and charged with third degree “assault and battery by mob,” a news release from the agency noted.
The three men – Eugene Thomas Hopper, Jr., Brett Cameron Setzler of Newberry, S.C. and Christopher Joseph Hawkins of Sumter, S.C. – were arrested in connection with an incident that took place on September 1, 2018, according to probable cause affidavits accompanying the warrants for their arrests.
The location of the incident and the name of the victim have been redacted from the warrants.
All three men are accused of beating, hitting and kicking the victim “about his face, back and stomach area,” forcing him to “seek medical attention due to the injuries inflicted upon him.”
[su_dominion_video_scb]The SLED investigation was requested by the Newberry County, S.C. sheriff’s office. All three men were booked at the Newberry County detention center. Their cases will be handled by the office of S.C. eighth circuit solicitor David Stumbo.
Why did SLED take this case? According to our law enforcement sources, one of the responding deputies is related to an employee at the “location of the incident.” Newberry referred the matter to SLED out of an abundance of caution, hoping to avoid any potential conflicts of interest related to the inquiry.
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Hopper, Setzler and Hawkins are to be considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as any of them might wish to enter a pleading in connection with the charges filed against them.
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