Kenneth Curtis shook hands with his attorneys, turned around and then walked out the door of the courtroom to serve six months in jail for distributing urine. It brings an end to a six-year battle over Curtis' urine selling business. Curtis maintains he sold the product because he felt random urine testing by companies was an invasion of privacy. The state contends he sold it to help people defraud drug tests. Curtis was sentenced to three years in prison in December 2001, suspended to six months, after an undercover officer purchased one of his kits containing urine, a heating pack and tubing. Curtis had been out on $30,000 cash bond as he appealed the decision. [continues 234 words]
Greenville County has experienced an increase in the number of multiple homicides this year, and authorities say drugs and domestic violence are fueling the problem. One case - the murder of three people at the Blue Ridge Savings Bank in Greer - remains unsolved. But in the other five, authorities say the murders stemmed from either drugs or domestic violence. Drugs, poverty and robberies are factors when the number of multiple-victim murders increase, said Harold Rose, a University of Wisconsin professor. "They tend to go hand in hand," Rose said. "It's difficult to say if something is drug-related because drug cases are complex even if they are a factor." [continues 410 words]
A Greenville city police officer was indicted Wednesday on charges he sold information about ongoing narcotics investigations to drug dealers for money. Timothy R. Irvin, 34, of 5049 Old Augusta Road, has been placed on administrative paid suspension awaiting a hearing before the city's Civil Service Commission and a court appearance within the next five days, said state Attorney General Charlie Condon. "Let there be no doubt," he said. "Officials must obey the same laws as the citizens they protected." [continues 257 words]
The CADAVER Christian Fellowship Outreach Ministry on Pendleton Street offers more than just a soul-stirring Sunday service and Wednesday Bible study to the people of West Greenville. According to its pastor, the Rev. Phillip Poole Jr., CADAVER -- which stands for Christians Against Drugs and Violence Equal Rights -- offers a candle in the darkness for a section of the city and county that has become rife with homeless people, drug dealers and abandoned buildings. "It's a tough fight, but I'm not giving up," Poole said about his desire to help the people of the community come to terms with its problems. [continues 603 words]
Prosecutors asked a Greenville judge on Wednesday to revoke bond for Kenneth E. Curtis, arguing that he is violating its terms because he is continuing to sell kits that could be used to defraud urine drug tests. But Judge Larry Patterson ruled that Curtis was not selling urine and therefore not violating the terms of his bond, which forbid the Marietta man from selling urine anywhere in the world. Curtis, owner of Privacy Protection Services, was sentenced last December after being convicted of selling urine to help people defraud drug tests. He has been out on a $30,000 bond while he appeals his conviction. [continues 109 words]
Roughly half of all first-time drug offenders entering pretrial intervention in Greenville County are being sent to drug addiction classes, according to the 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office. On average, 30 people per month enter the PTI program. They generally are those convicted of simple drug charges such as possession of marijuana and possession of alcohol by a minor, said Bobbie Godwin, a program counselor. First-time criminal offenders can enter the program, which could expunge their record, only if all sides agree to it. [continues 372 words]
Time and treatment will solve the area's drug problems, not short-term incarceration, said advocates for drug rehabilitation programs and while Greenville County Sheriff Sam Simmons agrees in principle, he said the solution to crime is punishment. In an effort to curb crime Simmons said he is targeting street users. His deputies arrested 35.7 percent more people in 2001 than the year before on simple drug possession, while distribution and trafficking charges remained fairly stable. Carol Reeves, executive director of Greenville Family Partnership, points out that it is the sheriff's job to arrest people when they break the law and says arresting drug users is better than "looking the other way." [continues 844 words]
A new judge will hear the bond revocation hearing for a Marietta man found guilty in December of selling urine to defraud a drug test. Kenneth E. Curtis, owner of Privacy Protection Services, was sentenced to six years in prison followed by five years probation and a $10,000 fine in December. He has not served any time in jail while he appeals his criminal conviction. He has been out on a $30,000 bond. On Friday, he was in court for a possible bond revocation hearing, but Circuit Judge John Few recused himself from the case, citing the fact he had sent an e-mail to an assistant solicitor in the case without sending one to the defense. [continues 135 words]
Sheriff Sam Simmons believes that a rise in simple drug possession arrests in Greenville County in 2001 will mean an eventual decrease in violent crimes and other drug-related offenses. "The things that contribute to violent street crimes are drugs and alcohol," he said. "We have devoted more manpower to street-level drug enforcement. I can't say we've eradicated drug abuse in Greenville County, but I think it is reflected in the overall number of particular violent crimes." Greenville County sheriff's deputies arrested more people on simple drug possession charges in 2001 than ever before. [continues 633 words]
University of South Carolina junior Derek Watson said Tuesday he is innocent or marijuana possession charges, but will not ask head football coach Lou Holtz to rejoin the team until the matter is resolved. Watson, 20, was charged in Greenville early Saturday by narcotics agents in a parking lot outside Salsatheque Night Club, said Lt. Mike Gambrell, Greenville Police Department spokesman. On Monday, Watson was kicked off the USC football team where he was a starting tailback. In a four-paragraph prepared statement, Watson maintained his innocence. "I love this university and am grateful for every opportunity afforded me," Watson wrote. "My goal and objective is to prove to them, on and off the football field, my appreciation for their efforts." [continues 439 words]
The man accused of selling urine kits to defraud drug tests took the stand Thursday and said he knew undercover law enforcement agents were buying from him in an attempt to make an arrest. Kenneth Curtis, owner of Privacy Protection Services, maintains he is fighting the whole urinalysis system by showing it can be faked. This is the first time the state law that passed in 1999 is being heard in criminal court. During the second day of testimony in Circuit Court in Greenville, many jurors openly laughed and giggled as the prosecution and defense battled over the fate of Curtis, who faces a maximum of eight years in prison if convicted. [continues 386 words]
A Greenville judge has ordered the trial of a man accused of selling urine to help people pass drug tests to start Wednesday, making it the first time the law banning such sales will be heard in criminal court. Kenneth Curtis, owner of Privacy Protection Services, formerly of Marietta, faces charges that his company is against the law, according to prosecutors. Curtis maintains he sells the urine kits because he does not believe in random drug testing because it violates people's rights. It is legal to sell urine in South Carolina but illegal to defraud a drug screening test. [continues 382 words]
Greenville County sheriff's deputies responding to complaints of a suspicious vehicle in the Tigerville area stumbled upon a pile of methamphetamine waste behind a trailer off of State 414. Sgt. John Nantz, Sheriff's Office spokesman, said deputies busted the second largest meth lab ever discovered in the Carolinas at 326C Stringer Road Monday afternoon. The information was not released until this morning because of a request by the Drug Enforcement Agency that information not be released until today. The agency was part of a task force that worked through the night to clean up the area, Nantz said. [continues 109 words]
Greenville sheriff's deputies arrested more than 70 people on various drugs and disorderly conduct charges at what they described as a rave party over the weekend, according to reports released this morning. Sgt. John Nantz, Sheriff's Office spokesman, said more than 50 deputies were involved with the operation at the Carolina Metroplex at 2600 Whitehorse Road. Most of those arrested were adults, Nantz said. The majority of the drug charges involved possession of the chemical Ecstasy, he said. Ecstasy produces an enhanced sense of pleasure and self-confidence, as well as psychedelic effects. As an amphetamine, it also increases energy levels. [end]
