SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — A shooting in Sumter County has led to charges not only related to the incident itself but also several other issues detectives found during their investigation.
According to the Sumter County Sheriff's Office, 41-year-old Bennie Travis Haynesworth of Wedgefield was arrested on Tuesday in part because of a shooting he was accused of committing weeks earlier. But investigators also found evidence of other laws broken.
The shooting happened on Oct. 31 at a home on Cane Savannah Road. According to warrants, Haynesworth retrieved a gun during an argument with another person and fired several shots - one of them hitting the victim in the foot. Some of the others, according to the sheriff's office, hit the victim's vehicle.
Upon his arrest, Haynesworth was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in connection with the incident. He was also charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime and, because of previous convictions, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
However, during the arrest, several dogs were found chained to a tree in what the sheriff's department described as "poor condition" and without proper shelter or access to food and water. This led to two counts of ill-treatment of animals.
Investigators then found that Haynesworth had not properly updated his address with authorities which led to a second offense charge a sex offender failing to register.
Haynesworth is now being held at the Sumter County Detention Center after having his bond denied pending a circuit court appearance that was not specified.
