Staff reports Two men listed on the Aiken County Sheriff's Most Wanted deadbeat dads list released Wednesday were arrested Thursday, according to the Sheriff Department's Sgt. Dave Myers.
John Allen Odom Sr., 49, was picked up by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office Thursday on a tip. Odom faces two family court bench warrant charges. Odom owes more than $100,000 in child support, Myers said.
Steven Anthony Simon, 49, turned himself into the sheriff's office and faces two family court bench warrant charges. Simon owes more than $50,000 in child support.
Both men are being held at the Aiken County detention center.
The Most Wanted list was compiled by the Sheriff's Office by combing through more than 14,000 outstanding warrants on file.
To view more of Aiken County's Most Wanted, visit the Aiken Standard's crime site at www.aikenstandard.com/crime.
Anyone with information about Most Wanted individuals is asked to contact the Aiken County Sheriff's Office at 800-922-9709. Individuals also should call CrimeStoppers of the Midlands at (888) 599-TIPS. Callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of between $50 and $1,000.
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Comment Title: Work to pay off debt
There SHOULD be a way these guys could work while incarcerated and pay down their debt. Minimum wage, most of which paid to the indebted parent as long as that parent is working themselves. AND how in the world do you end up oweing $100,000 in child support??? payments, from what I've seen my parents and many other go through, are WAYYYY too much for what the child gets out of it. Mothers should NOT sit at home and collect $300 per month per child, not work, and have the ability to put their ex in jail if he gets fired while the economy's bad and can't pay. And SHAME on every parent who does that, be they male or female.
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Posted by: On: Wednesday, July 29, 2009 7:51 AM
Comment Title: Filling our jails is just selfishness on the county/state/sherrif's part
Oh no way... sorry but if they get a job while in jail it'll be for about $5 a week. I've been there. They can't pay anything till they get out and get a job, which they may have had before they were arrested but don't have now. Jail for child support owing people is just as stupid an idea as jail for drug using people as far as I'm concerned. We need to help these people get jobs and then REASONABLY garnish their wages if we want the support paid. None of this 85% of what you earn like certain states can garnish. No way a person can support themselves on 15% of their paycheck and no way child support should be that much.
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Posted by: On: Monday, July 27, 2009 10:57 AM
Comment Title:
Anyone know where Wayman Jeffrey "Jeff" Johnson is?
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Posted by: On: Sunday, July 26, 2009 7:36 PM
Comment Title:
I HAVE A QUESTION iS IT POSSIBLE FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS TO BE PUT TO WORK FOR THE COUNTY TO PAY OFF SOME OF THE MONEY OWED TO THE MOTHERS AND LIVING EXPENSE?
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Posted by: On: Sunday, July 26, 2009 10:29 AM
Comment Title:
Giving more entitlements to those who choose to have children they can't afford is also not a solution. It is about personal responsibility.If you want to have children you can't afford and live paycheck to paycheck then those choices have consequences. A little social Darwinism would do America and the CSRA alot of good.
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Posted by: On: Sunday, July 26, 2009 7:20 AM
Comment Title: Child Support Tax
This is no way to handle thie problem in our society. We need a child support tax with credits for those who stay married and support their children, payments based on income levdel to single parents who apply for assistance which must be declared as income, and any other incentitives which encourage appropriate care for children from broken homes. This situation is similar to health care where there must be allowances for indigent care at the emergency rooms, etc. The sheriff is stupid in trying to address the problem in this manner as now these folks are costing us at least $50 per day at the detention center with little chance of release over an extended period of time. This is not the solution, but simply adding to the problem, although counter intutitively.
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Posted by: Bri On: Saturday, July 25, 2009 10:02 AM
Comment Title:
Yes you do need child support to raise a child! And to let a deadbeat parent(because there are deadbeat moms out there too) get away without paying, which is their responsibility, hurts the child, not the parents.
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Posted by: On: Friday, July 24, 2009 2:05 PM
Comment Title:
If you need child support to raise a child then you don't need to be breeding. Women need to stop having unprotected sex with these dregs of society and take some accountability for their actions.
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Posted by: On: Friday, July 24, 2009 11:29 AM
Comment Title: It's a moot point
Again, what purpose does jail time serve? Do you want revenue or revenge? The process is screwed and is a Catch-21.
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Posted by: On: Friday, July 24, 2009 11:12 AM
Comment Title:
Anyone know where Greg Noonan is?
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Posted by: S. McIntosh On: Friday, July 24, 2009 8:50 AM
Comment Title: Not A Good Ending
Excellent work on the part of Law Enforcement. Now to let you know what will take place in S.C. Both of these individuals will appear before an Aiken County Family Court Judge. Each will receive a sentence of 6 months or 1 year. One year being the maximum. Each will serve their time at Aiken County Detention Center. Neither can be sent to the South Carolina Department of Corrections under current S.C. Law. At the end of this six months or one year, each will be released, no money having been paid to anyone. Then you start all over again. Same process repeated. In case anyone is interested, there is a Back Door to this process which is Legal. S.C. Code of Laws States that a Family Court Judge can place these and any others on Probation just as in a Criminal Charge. A condition of that Probation could be that they pay the Child Support. In addition to that they would have to report to a State Probation Officer Monthly, pay their Probation Fees, etc. Should they fail to comply with all conditions of Probation, they could be charged with Violation of Probation under the Criminal Process. This would require them to Appear in General Sessions Court and if found to be in Violation of Probation, Probation could be revoked and then off to S C D C (Prison).State picks up the Tab, not the County. No Adult Person has ever been placed on Probation in this State by a Family Court Judge. This process has never been tested by any County in S.C. I could be missing something here, but I don't think so. Time for that first test.
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Posted by: On: Friday, July 24, 2009 7:06 AM
Comment Title: Dead Beat Dads
I saw a name on the list for failure to appear in family court. This guy still lives at the address posted, so why hasn't he been arrested? Just curious.
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Posted by: Dansrn606 On: Thursday, July 23, 2009 11:41 PM
Comment Title: child support
If South Carolina child support enforcement would do more to help these parents who are in need of this support, the system would be so much better.Child support officers or workers in the Columbia office are so rude when you are trying to get information.You as the parent with the childern must find the deadbeat fathers or mothers your self.So what are the workers doing.And I was told it takes 6 months to a year for a case to become active. That is the reason why these deadbeats are getting away with not paying for their childern, because no one is enforcing the child support orders.
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Posted by: On: Thursday, July 23, 2009 8:52 PM
Comment Title: Way to go!
Nothing like public pressure to make people step up and do the right thing. Thank you Aiken Standard and the Sheriff's Office for bringing this to our attention.
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Posted by: KL On: Thursday, July 23, 2009 8:15 PM
Comment Title: Deadbeat Dads
Too bad they don't send Joseph Ashbrook Lord back to NJ. Where he owes over $100K in Child Support. He's been arrested in Aiken at least 3 times in the past year.
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