Suspects in NC man’s shooting death allowed in crime scene during investigation, SLED says

During the investigation into the shooting death of Scott Spivey the two shooting suspects were allowed to remain inside the crime scene during the investigation.

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and Horry County Police have provided details of their investigation into the deadly shooting through a Freedom of Information Act request.

It has been a year since Spivey, 33, of Tabor City, North Carolina, was killed in an exchange of gunfire off of S.C. 9 in the Longs area on Sept. 9, 2023.

The SLED report highlights steps taken by SLED from the time the agency was called in by Horry County Police to assist in the death investigation.

HCPD also detailed interviews with both shooting suspects, witness interviews, and evidence collected at the scene.

Spivey’s family has long questioned the investigation and evidence gathering of Horry County Police on the night of Spivey’s death. That includes why police didn’t acquire cellphones that may contain evidence from the two men involved.

The Sun News received reports from SLED and HCPD through the Freedom of Information Act. However, a request for photos and video taken from the crime scene would have cost $2,950, according to the county.

Spivey’s sister, Jennifer Foley, filed a wrongful death lawsuit on June 3 against the two men who allegedly shot and killed Spivey. The suit names Weldon Boyd, who operates Buoys on the Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, and Kenneth Williams, a passenger in Boyd’s vehicle at the time.

Boyd has claimed self-defense in the shooting, telling 911 dispatchers that Spivey was waving a gun out his window and that he too had a gun and was prepared to shoot him, according to 911 tapes released.

The wrongful death suit claims that Spivey also had a reasonable ground to be in fear as Boyd and Williams aggressively chased him, brandished their weapons and eventually killed him after some type of altercation occurred between the men.

Weldon Boyd responded to the lawsuit on July 25, 2024, and Kenneth Williams on July 23, 2024, both admitting to some of the allegations and denying others, including a section that states an altercation occurred between Boyd and Spivey that caused Boyd to become enraged and begin to follow him. Boyd also denied what was said during 911 calls Boyd made to Horry County Police.

Both Boyd and Williams have sought a dismissal of the lawsuit based on grounds of immunity.

Neither man has been charged in the case. Horry County Police closed the case in April, announcing they would not seek prosecution in Spivey’s shooting.

That decision followed the state Attorney General Office’s report that it, too, closed the case, concluding “insufficient evidence to merit criminal prosecution.” The Attorney General’s decision was based on SLED’s investigation.

Horry County Police did not release either shooter’s name during the investigation. Boyd was only named after 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson asked the Attorney General’s Office to review the case so there wouldn’t be any issues of impropriety, Richardson said previously.

Both Boyd’s and Williams’ attorneys did not return messages for comments about the SLED report. However, Kenneth Moss, Boyd’s attorney, previously said that Boyd has been the subject of false narratives.

‘He wasn’t the only player’

The Spivey family have long sought information from law enforcement on the case.

The family had only found out about Spivey’s death after a friend contacted them more than two hours after the shooting. Police told the family that they couldn’t locate Spivey’s driver’s license, Jennifer Foley said.

Foley said that her brother didn’t know either Boyd or Williams before the deadly exchange of gunfire. The family and law enforcement believe that a road rage incident near the intersection of S.C. 9 and Highway 57 started the sequence of events.

Spivey had been to a North Myrtle Beach restaurant before heading home that night.

Moss, Boyd’s attorney, has accused Spivey of being intoxicated the night of the shooting, which may have led to him waving his gun at passing drivers, including Boyd, Moss said in an earlier interview.

The HCPD report said that a toxicology report showed that Spivey had a blood alcohol content of .13. The legal limit in South Carolina is .08.

Foley said that her brother did have drinks at the restaurant. However, the autopsy wasn’t done until 62 hours after his death, which could have skewed the alcohol results.

Spivey’s autopsy report could not be accessed as it is not public under South Carolina law.

“He is not the only bad actor,” Foley said of her brother. “He wasn’t innocent. He was a player in this, but he wasn’t the only player.”

Foley said that Boyd announced twice in his 911 call that Spivey was trying to get away “and he does not allow it. He does not allow disengagement to happen.”

Foley said police and the state Attorney General’s Office didn’t feel like they had enough evidence to charge Boyd and Williams because Spivey was armed. “But there’s nothing against the law about having a gun,” Foley said.

“The state gave us no other avenue to get justice for Scott,” she said. “This is the only way I can get justice for my brother. This is not how we wanted it. ... It shouldn’t have ended up the way it ended.”

What Horry County police report says

Horry County Police determined that Spivey’s actions of brandishing a weapon and road rage resulted in the exchange of gunfire that erupted along Camp Swamp Road, according to the report.

Williams, who was a passenger in Boyd’s truck and one of the shooters, said that he and Boyd had left Tractor Supply on Highway 57 near Highway 9 when he saw a person pointing a gun at him, the report said. The driver was waving a gun out of the window, driving erratically and ran Boyd off the road.

The driver of the black truck, later identified as Spivey, “was stopped in the roadway and was exiting his vehicle at which point he pointed the firearm at them and fired,” the report said. Williams said he did return fire at which point Spivey got back into his vehicle. He then heard gunshots coming from Spivey’s vehicle. Williams fired two more times. Williams said he was unsure how many times he fired, according to the report.

Boyd’s statement was similar to Williams’.

Police also interviewed multiple witnesses who all indicated Spivey, who was driving a black truck, was driving erratically and was seen brandishing a weapon, according to the report. One witness said Spivey ran Boyd, who was driving a white truck, off the road, and at one point, Spivey pointed the gun at her.

Another witness told police that the black and white trucks would continue to pass one another as they traveled along Highway 9, eventually turning on Camp Swamp Road.

A husband and wife witnessed the incident as they were approaching the intersection of Highway 9 while driving on Camp Swamp Road, the report said. The husband said “he observed a black truck come to a fast stop” and the driver exit the vehicle with a gun, yelling.

“He saw the driver of the black truck start to raise the gun up at which time he yelled to his wife and pushed her down in the vehicle,” the report said. He then saw the white truck come to a stop and the driver with a gun pointed at the black truck. As they passed, gunfire erupted, and the wife called 911.

Evidence collected showed spent shell casings outside both vehicles and inside the white truck.

Police recorded that investigators found three bullet holes in Spivey’s driver-side front windshield, bullet holes to the exterior and interior rear tailgate, and the rear back glass was shattered and missing.

Evidence reviewed by detectives

SLED began reviewing evidence in the case on Sept. 19, 2023, including crime scene photos and 911 tapes, according to documents provided through a Freedom of Information Act request.

However, some evidence was unavailable to Horry County Police and SLED detectives, according to the report. Boyd and Williams were apparently allowed to keep their cell phones on the night of the shooting. SLED was told on Sept. 20, 2023, that the two men’s phones were in the custody of their attorneys.

SLED began a consent-to-search process for the phones and tablets that were mounted on the dashboard of Boyd’s truck. However, it wasn’t until two months later that detectives got the devices after both signed a consent to search form.

There had been reports that Boyd had taken video and photos from the time he had followed Spivey from the intersection of S.C. 9 and Highway 57. The family has photos taken of Spivey holding a gun out of his window and of Spivey’s and Boyd’s truck that had bullet holes from the gunfire.

After examining the phones and tablet, SLED determined that there was no additional evidence found on the devices, according to the report. The report said there were no video recordings of the incident found on the devices and the photos taken showed they were not screenshots from a video.

Suspects allowed to remain inside crime scene

Horry County Police Lt. Brian Shirley responded to the shooting on Camp Swamp Road, according to the report. He told SLED investigators that when he arrived there were two Horry County officers on the scene and he observed a white truck with a trailer parked on the road about 30 to 40 feet behind a black truck. Both trucks had apparent bullet holes.

The white truck had numerous bullet holes in the windshield that appeared to be caused by the occupants shooting from inside, the report said. Shirley confirmed that Spivey was deceased. Spivey was found in the front seat of his truck, lying over the center console, and had gunshot wounds to his face and side. The driver’s door of the vehicle was open and there were casings on the ground beside the truck and in the front and rear floorboards of the truck, the report said. There was a pistol and an extended magazine in the rear of Spivey’s truck.

Shirley told SLED investigators that he thought it was strange that Boyd and Williams were inside the crime scene. Boyd was walking around and talking on the phone, while Williams was sitting on the trailer. He did not observe the two men go near the black truck, the report said.

Both shooters had guns

The SLED report said that Boyd, who was listed as 32 at the time, had a weapon identified as a tan shadow systems MR920 that was in his truck. Williams, whose age and address were not listed, had a black shadow systems MR920.

There were five witnesses who saw the shooting, according to the report.

Five 911 calls released by Horry County Police through a Freedom of Information Act request detail the moments when Spivey was shot and killed during the exchange of gunfire. One of those calls was allegedly from Boyd, who identifies himself as driving a white Ram pickup truck.

The caller says, “I’ve got a guy pointing a gun at me driving. We’re armed as well. He keeps throwing the gun in our faces, acting like he’s about to shoot us. If he keeps this up, I am going to shoot him.”

The caller says, “He’s trying to run from me now. We’re on Highway 9 headed toward Loris.”

In another call, a witness tells the dispatcher that somebody was shot in the middle of the road. “Somebody just unloaded shots through his windshield and shot this guy.”

The caller says that the driver in the black truck got out and said, “Don’t follow me anymore.” He said the guy in the white truck (Boyd) had his gun drawn and pointed and then when the guy in the black truck (Spivey) moved his gun, the “other guys unloaded.”