Bond denied for Vaughn

A 47-year-old Manning arrested on four charges that stemmed from a Jan. 26 head-on collision that sent a 16-year-old LMA student to the hospital was denied bond on Wednesday afternoon at the Sumter County Courthouse.

Third Circuit Court Judge Ferrell Cothran listed several reasons for denying bond for Vaughn. The matter is being held in Sumter County when a change of venue motion was granted.

Cothran said he wanted to be sure that Vaughn would not be unable to get behind the wheel of a vehicle until his case came to court. Cothran also said he had issues with Vaughn’s leaving the state for treatment as well as issues with extradition should Vaughn decide not to return to South Carolina. Cothran said he was concerned with the possibility that Vaughn could walk away from the treatment center.

Cothran told Vaughn’s attorney, William J. Thrower of Charleston, that he could revisit the bond issue in 30 to 60 days.

“Someone will have to assure me that he can not get behind the wheel of a car,” Cothran told Vaughn’s attorney. “He’s a danger to the community. I will deny bond.”

Vaughn did not appear in the courtroom. He waived his right to appear in court for the bond hearing.

Brittani Steen, the 16-year-old who injured in the wreck, appeared in court along with her mother, father and aunt.

Thrower who stood next to where Steen sat in her wheelchair asked the court to allow his client to enter a treatment program in Maryland.

“He has a spotty criminal history,” Thrower told Cothran. “In 2009, he was in a bad car accident and he’s been on pain killers and self-medicating.’

Clarendon County’s Assistant Solicitor Chris DuRant outlined a history of driving under the influence arrests, including an arrest in September 2011 in Sumter County and a December 2011 arrest in Clarendon County where five grams of cocaine was also found in the vehicle. Vaughn was awaiting court appearances for both the September arrest and the December arrest when he was arrested on the driving under the influence charge that stemmed from the Jan. 26 wreck.

DuRant told the court of a criminal history that dated back to when Vaughn was 18 years old, which included house breaking, grand larceny, resisting arrest, failure to stop for a blue light and siren and a 2009 fugitive charge from Atlanta. Vaughn also had a 1989 distribution of crack cocaine charge.

Cpl. Robert Falls with the South Carolina Highway Patrol told the court he was on a first name basis with Vaughn.

“I’ve had three run-ins with him in the past two-and-a-half month,” Falls told Cothran.

The trooper told the court that on Jan. 26 Vaughn started off denying that he was the driver of the vehicle that struck Steen’s vehicle. It wasn’t until after Vaughn was arrested and sitting in the backseat of the trooper’s vehicle that he allegedly admitted that he was driving with a suspended driver’s license and had been drinking, Falls added.

“He said he had leaned over to light a cigarette right before the accident happened,” Falls said in court.

Steen’s father, Buck, told the court that Vaughn never checked on his daughter as she lay in a ditch following the accident.

“He left her in a ditch,” Steen said. “What if he gets out and does this again and kills someone.”

“She has broken femurs and will be in a wheelchair for some time, DuRant told Cothran. “And he has a habit of driving while drunk.”

Thrower made a second plea for his client’s release on bond.

“This has been a nightmare,” Thrower added. “He’s fighting addiction of alcohol and drugs. We’re not asking for a (personal recognizance) bond. We’re asking for a reasonable bond that would allow him 48 hours to report to Baltimore.”

Before Cothran rendered his decision, Steen also addressed the court.

“It’s not fair. I have two broken legs and I can’t do anything,” the teen told Cothran before breaking down in tears.

“My concern is based on his prior history,” Cothran said before denying Vaughn’s bond. “He’s a danger to the community.”

Vaughn remains in the Clarendon County Detention Center charged with felony driving under the influence, driving under suspension, driving a vehicle uninsured and an open container violation.