Man faces 2 drug charges after passing out in car
A Columbia man is facing two drug charges after being found passed out behind the wheel of his vehicle in Lexington County, according to WIS.
Lexington deputies discovered Jahbou Rudolpfh Drakes, 42, unconscious in his SUV stopped on the wrong side of St. Andrews Road. The vehicle was stopped, but the engine was still running.
Drakes admitted to drinking when he woke up. The deputies smelled marijuana from inside the SUV. They searched the vehicle and found a green leafy substance, several bags of white powder in a pill bottle believed to be powder cocaine and a scale.
Drakes was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine.
— Maxwell Bauman, Copy Desk Chief
Army says it didn’t cover up pollution findings
The U.S. Army denied it covered up the findings of a pollution investigation at Fort Jackson for more than a year, according to The State.
Fort Jackson officials said they received the results of a groundwater contamination test in June 2013. A letter from the Department of Health and Environmental Control said army officials were aware of the contamination in July 2012 and didn’t notify them.
Traces of Royal Demolition Explosive were discovered in the groundwater. RDX is a compound used since the 1940s in hand grenades. It can cause seizures in those who drink water containing high levels.
The first signs of contamination were found in the summer of 2012, and a report was not sent to DHEC until October of this year.
Fort Jackson has sent out notices to residents who live near the base to test their wells for contamination.
Fort Jackson’s environmental management branch chief, Barbara Williams, said she would drink the water.
— Maxwell Bauman, Copy Desk Chief
Columbia, region set record-high temperatures
Columbia and the region saw record-breaking high temperatures Monday.
The capital city reached 85 degrees between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., breaking the previous Nov. 18 temperature record of 83 degrees set in 1958, The State reported.
Augusta also set its record-high temperature Monday, 86 degrees. And several cities in the region tied their records, including Florence (83), Savannah (83) and Charlotte (78), according to The State.
Temperatures will cool significantly for the next three days. The Weather Channel predicts a high of 62 degrees and a low of 39 in Columbia today. High temperatures are predicted to remain in the mid-60s until Friday, when the high is projected to be 74 degrees.
Fans at Saturday’s 1 p.m. kickoff for the USC vs. Coastal Carolina game can expect isolated thunderstorms with a high of 77 degrees.
— Sarah Ellis, Assistant News Editor