A South Carolina boy faces 19 charges, including attempted murder, after deputies in Greenville County say tried to run bicyclists off the road, threw lit firecrackers at them and spit on them — all because he blamed cyclists for a deadly crash involving 2 friends.
The 16-year-old, whose name will not be released because of his age, has been charged as an adult, according to the sheriff’s office.
Investigators say the teen tried to run the cyclists off the road, spit on and throw things at them while driving by the bikers on several occasions.
Greenville County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Master Deputy Jonathan Smith said the teen was targeting cyclists because his friends died in a car crash a few months ago.
Smith said the teen arrested was a neighbor and friend of Timothy Michael Arrowood, age 19, of Travelers Rest who died along with Josey Macala Cox, age 17, of Greenville in a crash on Roe Ford Road in mid-December 2014.
Smith said the teen under arrest blamed a bicyclist for causing the crash and was targeting them as revenge.
However, SC Highway Patrol spokesman Corporal Bill Rhyne says that nothing in the report on that deadly crash indicates a bicycle was involved.
A Greenville County Sheriff’s Office investigator, who is also a cyclist, saw posts warning people to watch out for a certain car on the “Greenville Spinners” bicycle club Facebook page.
That car led the deputy to the 16-year-old.
“This is an example of how those individual reports can be valuable in building a case against someone who is doing a lot of this activity,” said Steve Baker, who’s been a member of Greenville Spinners for nearly 20 years.
He said this is an unusual case.
“We get some people who give us some language, maybe some gestures. It’s usually a one-off. It’s just a situation. Somebody’s mad one day. But one when you start seeing a regular recurrence with the same person, that’s very scary,” said Baker.
The teen is accused of attacking about a dozen bicyclists. None of them were injured.
Smith said one of the teen’s parents turned him in after he was identified as the suspect.
The teen is charged with the following:
- 6 charges attempted murder
- 2 counts assault and battery
- 2 counts assault and battery third degree
- 2 counts of throwing fireworks from a vehicle
- 7 counts of taunting a cyclist
He was still in custody on Friday night.
— Info from WSPA-TV