By Kenneth A. Gailliard
The Sun News
Conway police have charged a Loris man they say used a high-powered rifle to fire shots at a police officer on New Year’s Eve.
Johnathan Joseph Stephens was arrested Wednesday and charged with discharging a firearm into a dwelling and assault with intent to kill, according to arrest-warrant affidavits issued by Conway police. Stephens was being held Thursday at J. Reuben Long Detention Center in lieu of $250,000 bail.
Police waited until Wednesday to charge Stephens because he had been hospitalized at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston since the shooting, said Capt. Randal Graham of the Conway Police Department.
Conway police Sgt. Troy Wilkinson shot Stevens, Graham said, and is on administrative leave with pay pending investigations of the shooting by the Conway Police Department and the State Law Enforcement Division.
Just before midnight on New Year’s Eve, Wilkinson was on foot patrolling a section of the Darden Terrace community, where gunshots had been reported, Graham said.
While on patrol, Wilkinson heard shots coming from Altman Circle and went to investigate, according to affidavits.
Police said when Wilkinson was nearby, he saw Stephens holding a handgun and watched him run into 1143 Altman Circle. As the officer got closer to Altman Circle, Stephens came out of 1146-A Altman Circle, pointed a rifle in Wilkinson’s direction and fired several shots, according to an affidavit.
Several of the shots struck a nearby home on Altman Circle, the affidavits said.
Several neighbors said they heard gunshots and fireworks late Saturday but said gunshots were common in that community at New Year’s.
Correction
A story about a shooting on Page 2C Friday contained incorrect information about Conway police Sgt. Troy Wilkinson’s suspension. Wilkinson is suspended with pay. Also in the story, The Sun News misinterpreted information in the arrest warrant affidavit. According to Capt. Randal Graham, Wilkinson said he observed an unidentified man with a handgun going into a home on Altman Circle and another man coming out of the home with a rifle. According to police, the second man, identified as Johnathan Joseph Stephens, fired shots toward Wilkinson.
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