Local news in brief for Oct. 16

Regional unit focus to be on gangs

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has joined with local authorities in the Aiken area to form the Regional Anti-Gang Enforcement (RAGE) Unit for the purpose of focusing on gang-related crimes of violence in South Carolina, particularly in and around Aiken County, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The joint enforcement task force includes the ATF, the Aiken County Sheriff's Office (ACSO), the Aiken Department of Public Safety (ADPS), the North Augusta Department of Public Safety (NADPS), and the Edgefield County Sheriff's Office (ECSO).

The ATF RAGE Unit, through the U.S. Attorney's Office, was approved by the U.S. Department of Justice. The increase of gang-related crimes and the growing network of organizational criminal activity prompted the ATF, Aiken County Sheriff Michael Hunt, Aiken Public Safety Chief Pete Frommer, North Augusta Public Safety Chief Lee Wetherington, and Edgefield County Sheriff Adell Dobey to form the task force.

Additionally, ATF federally deputized several members of the participating local law enforcement agencies on the task force, prosecutors said.

The ATF RAGE Unit is designed to use proactive investigative measures to investigate multi-defendant, complex criminal conspiracy cases.

"Operation Currytown" is an example of a recent ATF RAGE Unit case which arose from an 18-month investigation that resulted in federal indictments against 22 defendants and state charges against many others, prosecutors said.

Investigators believe that co-conspirators have networked their criminal activity from Aiken, Edgefield, and Columbia, in South Carolina to Augusta, Evans, and Atlanta in Georgia.

The federal case is pending and will be heard in Columbia.

Man is transported in murder case

A Columbia man charged with the September death of an Aiken man was transported to Aiken earlier this week to face murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and weapons charges.

Melvin Cummins, 25, of Bowling Avenue in Columbia, is one of four men arrested and charged with the murder of Frederick L. Tucker, 39, 117 Old Barnwell Road.

He was jailed at the detention center in Aiken County Tuesday.

Parked RV gutted by fire at Woodside

An RV parked at the Woodside Plantation was destroyed by fire late Wednesday evening after the owner of the vehicle started it up and the vehicle ignited in flames.

The overhang for the vehicles also caught fire, but no one was injured.

Aiken Public Safety responded to the fire and extinguished the blaze before it spread to nearby structures said to be in danger.

Smoke could be seen from several miles away before the flames were extinguished.

One held, one sought in forgery

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office has arrested one woman and is searching for a another concerning the forgery on Sept. 6 of a check stolen from an area college or university at Lucky Seven, 1108 Hampton Ave., in Aiken, according to a press release issued by the Aiken County Sheriff's Office.

Alexis S. Cullum, 18, 1489 University Parkway, Aiken, South Carolina, is charged with forgery.

SEED Day will be held on Saturday

The popular Science Education Enrichment Day (SEED) will be held at the USC Aiken campus Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

In 2007, about 2,500 people attended the free event, now in its 23rd year. SEED allows visitors to take a self-guided, hands-on tour through a variety of motivating science and math activity stations. Approximately 55 organizations and individuals throughout the CSRA's science and math community will present the activities.

SEED will feature computers, telescopes, student-engineering, live animals, robotics, paper-making, meteorology and many other hands-on science and math activities. Kids and their families also will learn about careers and applications that involve science and math.

For more information about SEED, call the Ruth Patrick Center at 641-3313 or visit http://rpsec.usca.edu/SEED/.

Interior designer to be at paint store

Sharon Preston, interior designer, will be at Park Avenue Paints on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon to chat and share creative ways to use color to restyle your home.