Ex-Horry County deputy seeks new trial after conviction for drowning deaths of 2 women

A former Horry County deputy is seeking a new trial after being convicted in the 2018 deaths of two mental health patients who drowned in the back of a transport van overcome by Hurricane Florence floodwater.

Attorneys for Stephen Flood attorneys filed a brief on Monday requesting his convictions and sentence be overturned, according to WMBF-TV. Flood was convicted in May on two counts each of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide for the deaths of Nikki Green and Wendy Newton.

Marion County Judge William Seals sentenced Flood to five years each on the involuntary manslaughter charges and four years each on the reckless homicide charges, with all those sentences running consecutively, according to WMBF’s live stream of the trial.

But after Flood was sentenced to 18 years, the involuntary manslaughter charges were dropped because it was determined a person can’t be punished with two crimes for each death, according to WMBF.

The attorneys argued the court made a mistake allowing the jury to see video and photos of the flooding after the drownings because the water levels were higher. Flood’s attorneys say jurors were misled, the TV station reported.

They also claim his sentencing shouldn’t stand since the number of charges were reduced. The appeal states the court made a reversible error by choosing which charge to impose, according to WMBF.

The van was near the town of Nichols when the deputies drove around a barricade and into high waters caused by Hurricane Florence. It was trapped in the water, and the deputies waited on top of the van until they were rescued.

It took about 45 minutes for emergency crews to find the van. Flood and Bishop were taken to the hospital, but Green and Newton remained in the van. Officials said the deputies tried to rescue the women but were unsuccessful.

The women’s bodies were recovered the next day, and their deaths were later ruled to be caused by drowning. Flood and fellow Horry sheriff’s deputy Joshua Bishop, who was also in the van during the transport, were fired about a month later.

Bishop had been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter. But 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements said the charges were dropped last year due to a lack of evidence.