Suspect back at MCG, to be extradited to S.C.

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office had posted a guard at the hospital room door of an injured murder suspect who walked away from the Medical College of Georgia over the weekend and then returned Tuesday morning, but officials said the local deputy really has no arrest powers in Georgia.

The 40-year-old Terrance Riley of Columbia was hospitalized Friday at MCG after he was critically injured when he and three other men reportedly shot and killed a Ridge Spring man. Riley was caught in the crossfire and was taken to the hospital with injuries that officials were initially told could be fatal.

While Riley was hospitalized, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office held warrants for his arrest, but he was not in custody.

Sheriff's Office Capt. Troy Elwell explained that the moment a person is charged, the County takes on the burden of not only paying for his security but also paying his medical bills and added that the sheriff's office cannot take on those bills.

He said law enforcement relies on hospital officials to keep them up-to-date on that patient's condition.

Patients in critical condition are not typically guarded until their condition improves, and they become ambulatory enough to be a flight risk, he said. A hospital will notify law enforcement officers when a patient's condition does improve, but that did not occur this time, he said.

"The victim's family notified us that he was gone," Elwell said. "We didn't hear it from the hospital."

Upon Riley's return to the hospital Tuesday morning, Aiken County officials said they still hadn't heard from MCG.

An Aiken Public Safety officer who took the suspect to MCG Tuesday was the first to call the sheriff's office, which, in turn, sent an investigator to Georgia.

Aiken County Sheriff's Office officials then asked Richmond County, Ga., deputies for help.

"We have no jurisdiction there," Elwell said. "Our deputy is really only there to make sure that, as soon as he improves, he will be taken into custody."

The incident has made officials at Aiken County re-evaluate procedures, but Elwell said he couldn't say what, if any, changes will be implemented.

Even after Riley is released, arresting the accused murderer is not a simple matter of bringing him back to Aiken, said Sgt. Dave Myers, a spokesperson for the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

"As soon as the hospital releases him, a law enforcement agency there, which in this case is Richmond County, will take him into custody on our charges," Myers explained.

Officials said that MCG police do have arrest powers, but Richmond County was willing to help with the case.

Riley can fight or waive extradition but will eventually be brought back to South Carolina where he will face murder charges.

Anytime a patient is taken across the river, he must first be released to an officer with arrest powers in Georgia.

Contact Karen Daily at kdaily@aikenstandard.com.