Police and Fire

The month of August was busy for Wellford Police Department (WPD), according to their monthly wrap-up report.

In August, WPD reported more than 300 traffic and criminal citations and made 33 total arrests.

Marcel Larville Alston, 30, of Spartanburg, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering his mother, Audra Rochelle Brown. He pleaded guilty on August 28 to Murder, Attempted Murder, and Possession of a Weapon During Commission of a Violent Crime.

Matthew Ryan Shope, 23, pleaded guilty on Thursday to Voluntary Manslaughter and Possession of a Weapon During Commission of a Violent Crime. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison for Manslaughter, and an additional five years for Possession of a Weapon.

Zaria Aiyanna Owens, 23, of Moore, was arrested by Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office and charged with Murder and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime for shooting someone near the USC Upstate campus.

The Greer location of Sonic Drive-In, located at 119 S. Buncombe Road, and seven other upstate locations of the fast-food chain, have violated child labor laws between March 2021 and October 2022.

The Sonic Drive-Ins violated the law by allowing employees under the age of 16 to work longer and later hours than what is legally allowed.

(Note: All information contained in the following was taken directly from the official incident reports filed by the Greer Police Department or Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office. All suspects are to be considered innocent until proven guilty in the court of law.)