Horry County cross-burning suspects have long history of interactions with police
HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Horry County authorities have had numerous interactions through the years with two people accused in a Thanksgiving weekend cross-burning incident.
Authorities charged Alexis Hartnett and Worden Butler with second-degree harassment after they allegedly put up a cross on their property on Corbett Drive that faced their Black neighbors and set it on fire. Both are out of jail on bond.
Documents News13 obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted in mid-December include police reports involving Hartnett or Butler, including incidents of alleged theft, trespassing, arguments with neighbors, and other disturbance and nuisance complaints.
In an October 2008 incident, a report said officers had to restrain Butler in a patrol car and take him home after he was found walking away from school on East Cox Ferry Road. The report said he was “totally out of control” and “pulling his shirt over his face” and taking off his shoes in the back of the patrol vehicle.
The documents include reports of theft, domestic violence and other violent actions involving both Butler and Hartnett, including an incident in June 2012 in which they were both arrested and charged with assault and breach of peace after getting into a fight with each other. The report indicated that there was an “extensive call history” at the home for similar incidents.
A few months later, on Oct. 23, 2012, authorities were called to the home on Corbett Drive about a “psych patient.” According to the report, Butler appeared to be confused and was talking in a “robotic voice.” He also told another person that he had not slept in days and had not been taking his medication.
The person also told officers that they contacted EMS because he had gotten into an argument with another person and “had swung a bamboo poll in the house several times causing damage to the residence.” Butler was detained and taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
In June 2014, Butler was arrested for assault getting into a fight over picking blueberries. The report said the fight began after the victim told Butler he had to start watering them and helping take care of them.
In August 2019, police were called to a home on Breakers Drive after a neighbor reported hearing a female screaming, a report said. Hartnett told officers she had been singing. After an officer found ashes from a burned $1 bill in front of her door, Hartnett said she had been burning sage inside her apartment and it caught fire. She later changed her story and said she had burned the money because “burning money is a good omen.”
In September 2022, officers responded to Corbett Drive to investigate an indecent exposure incident in which Hartnett was allegedly seen in the front yard without a shirt on. Officers did not see the incident and no arrest was made.
About a month after the November cross-burning — on Dec. 20 — officers took a report from a news outlet that alleged a journalist had been assaulted while working at the Corbett Drive address. During the incident, which was captured on video, Hartnett is heard saying “I’m a thug and I will f—— kill you.” and yelling other obscenities. Hartnett also allegedly threw a water bottle that hit a member of the news crew.
The cross-burning incident has sparked debate about legislative efforts to create a South Carolina hate-crime law. Wyoming and South Carolina are the only U.S. states without such a law.
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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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