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by WILL FOLKS
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Disgraced former Spartanburg County, South Carolina sheriff Chuck Wright and two of his accomplices finally faced the music this week – receiving sentences in their federal public corruption cases from U.S. district court judge Timothy M. Cain.
Chief photog and lead investigative reporter Andy Fancher helmed our team coverage of Wright’s sentencing in Greenville, S.C., and he joined me in this week’s lead segment to discuss this long-overdue reckoning for the Palmetto State’s most notorious ‘Badge Gone Bad.’
In addition to detailing the nuts and bolts of Wright’s sentence – and the sentences handed down to co-conspirators Lawson “LB” Watson and former sheriff’s office chaplain Amos Durham – Andy spoke with about whether he believed these outcomes constituted real accountability in this case. He also previewed several components of this saga which have yet to break in wide circulation – as well as several spinoff stories tied to Wright and his erstwhile empire.
Stay tuned for much more on the Chuck Wright story – and the broader web of corruption in Spartanburg County – as our investigations continue.
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In our second segment, research director Jenn Wood detailed the heartbreaking case of four-year-old Javeayah Harris of Aiken, S.C. Originally reported missing by her parents on June 30, 2026, Javeayah’s story inspired a community to rally together in the hopes of finding her.
Those efforts proved to be in vain…
Tragically, investigators ultimately concluded the little girl had been killed weeks earlier by her parents – who then allegedly disposed of her body using chemicals and other means.
In our final segment, Jenn and I discussed the latest drama surrounding South Carolina real estate mogul Ron Rallis, whose chronic inability to keep it between the lines would appear to be posing an escalating danger to the Palmetto Lowcountry.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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