2-16-2009 SOuth Carolina:IVA — A dispute over a stolen prescription was a flash point that left a 41-year-old Anderson man dead, an Iva police officer and a 71-year-old woman injured.
Iva Police Chief Thomas Miller on Monday identified the officer who fired the fatal shots at Mark Monroe Evans as Sgt. Tim Striss. The woman was identified as Lula Charping.
Sgt. Striss, 34, shot Evans about 4 p.m. Saturday at 713 Front St. in Iva.
Sgt. Striss had gone to the house to complete a report after Ms. Charping reported that Mr. Evans stole her prescription. But he found himself “trapped in the house. Both were attacking him,” Chief Miller said.
When Sgt. Striss arrived to take the prescription report, he found Mr. Evans and Ms. Charping in an argument and attempted to separate them, Chief Miller said. Moments after the officer told Mr. Evans to sit and wait in a kitchen, he ran, causing Sgt. Striss to try to restrain him, using pepper spray and a baton to no effect, Chief Miller said.
“(Ms. Charping) attacked the officer when Evans was struck with the baton,” Chief Miller said.
Sgt. Striss suffered bruises, abrasions and a cut that required six stitches under his eye, the chief said.
Chief Miller, who was off duty at the time, said he was just arriving at the house about 4 minutes after dispatchers reported an officer requesting assistance.
“Then they called out, ‘Shots fired,’” Chief Miller said. “I have never been in that situation. By the grace of God, (Sgt. Striss) is not the one that is deceased.”
Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said Mr. Evans suffered a gunshot to his stomach and a fatal gunshot to his neck.
At the time Sgt. Striss was in the house, deputies with the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office were headed to Iva to talk with Mr. Evans about a stolen vehicle and a robbery on Thursday, Chief Miller said.
According to records at the Anderson County Courthouse, Mr. Evans was released from the Anderson City Jail on Dec. 3. An Anderson Municipal Court judge set a $15,000 bond after Mr. Evans was accused in October of receiving or possessing stolen goods valued at more than $1,000. His address was listed as 101 Farmer St. in Anderson, court records show.
On Jan. 2, Mr. Evans completed his annual registration as one of South Carolina’s sex offenders, listing Ms. Charping’s 713 Front St. home in Iva as his residence, according to state and detention records. Mr. Evans was convicted in 1993 of committing a lewd act on a child, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Web site. His initial sex offender registration was in June 1999, state records show.
Sunday, Ms. Charping was charged with assault on a police officer and interference with an officer, according to records at the Anderson County Detention Center. Chief Miller said Ms. Charping is being held under a $10,000 bond.
SLED officials have been called in by Chief Miller to investigate. It’s a routine procedure, he said.
And an internal investigation is under way by Iva police officials to make sure that city policies were followed on Saturday, Chief Miller said. ..News Source.. by Pearce Adams
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