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    • Bail Set, Embezzlement Arrests Made for Former Hampton Co. Officials – Enjoy Motel
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    Bail Set, Embezzlement Arrests Made for Former Hampton Co. Officials – Enjoy Motel

    Vaseline Posted on

    Two former Hampton County officials accused of embezzlement made their first court appearances Thursday, where bail was set and official arrests and bookings were made.

    On August 15, former Hampton County Administrator Rose Dobson-Elliott was indicted on charges of embezzlement of public funds worth less than $10,000, while former deputy sheriff and school superintendent Justin Edwards was indicted on charges of misconduct in performance of office and embezzlement of public funds worth more than $10,000.

    Dobson-Elliott and Edwards appeared for a bail hearing Thursday morning before 14th Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen in the HC Court of General Sessions.

    Dobson-Elliott was given a $10,000 bond, while Edwards was given a $40,000 bond, the Superior Court Clerk’s Office reported.

    Both were allowed to turn themselves in to the HC Detention Center for formal arrest and booking, and both were booked into the HCDC on Thursday and released. No trial dates have been set.

    According to the HC Clerk of Court’s Office, Dobson-Elliott was represented Thursday by Beaufort County attorney Jim Brown of the Law Office of Jim Brown, PA; and Edwards was represented by Bluffton attorney Tabor Vaux of Vaux Marscher Berglind, PA.

    On August 15, the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office announced that the former Hampton County officials had been “directly charged” in the August general session of the district court by the Public Integrity Unit of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

    According to the law firm, the charges against Dobson-Elliott stem from her alleged use of a county account for personal use in March 2023.

    Dobson-Elliott previously served in Hampton County as an administrator until she left Hampton County in December 2022 to take a position in neighboring Jasper County after a controversial career. Dobson-Elliott served in Jasper County until Aug. 19, when she was “no longer employed by Jasper County,” Jasper County Administrator Andy Fulghum said this week.

    According to the law firm, the charges against Edwards stem from his alleged use of county funds for personal use between April 2019 and December 2022, while he was employed by the Hampton County Sheriff’s Office.

    After leaving the HCSO, Edward was hired by the Town of Estill Police Department in southern Hampton County. Estill Police Chief Chauncey Solomon Sr. said last week that Edwards was fired from the EPD on April 25.

    The Public Integrity Unit secured the direct charges against the suspects in Hampton County following an investigation by the S.C. State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), the law firm said.

    The charges and subsequent arrest come amid two ongoing investigations by state police, the mysterious deletion of thousands of emails from the region and confirmed reports of millions of tax dollars being misspent.

    SLED told The Hampton County Guardian in February that it was investigating allegations of breach of trust and unauthorized credit card use against Dobson-Elliott after an interim administrator reported her suspicions to Hampton County Sheriff Anthony Russell, who then notified SLED.

    That same month, Sheriff Russell also informed SLED of allegations or suspicions of missing equipment from his office, dating back to the previous HCSO administration.

    In May, SLED would not confirm or deny that it was investigating reports of more than 22,000 emails deleted by a former, unnamed county employee who allegedly hacked the county’s network.

    These recent developments come against a backdrop in Hampton County, where an ongoing state forensic investigation and a report from the South Carolina Department of Revenue show that Hampton County, primarily under the Dobson-Elliott administration, misspent more than $3.6 million in capital projects taxes and user fees, while making nearly half a million dollars in unexplained and unrecorded transactions.

    Hampton County officials also admitted in January 2022 that the previous administration had wasted approximately $1.4 to $1.5 million in fire department funds.

    According to the law firm, the investigations that led to the charges are ongoing and all suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

    The Public Integrity Unit is a partnership between the 14th and 1st Circuit Solicitor’s Offices. It is comprised of senior attorneys and investigators from both offices, who work with law enforcement agencies to investigate alleged government corruption, as well as officer-involved shootings and other use-of-force incidents.

    Vaseline
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