Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office
Hall of Fame
The purpose of this page is to honor the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office deputies, and other law enforcement officers who lost their lives while on duty serving the citizens of Kershaw County.
THEODORE TURNER
End of Watch: April 29, 1971
Cause: Gunfire
Deputy Theodore Turner was shot and killed while he and another deputy served commitment papers on a mental subject. The man was given permission from the two deputies to obtain some personal items before being removed from the home.
As the two deputies spoke on the front porch the suspect returned to the door and fired a shot from a 410 gauge shotgun, striking Deputy Turner in the back of the head.
The 51-year-old suspect was arrested following a massive manhunt and committed. In January of 1982 hospital officials deemed him competent to stand trial and returned him to Kershaw County. On August 19, 1982, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of the murder. He was released but he voluntarily recommitted himself back into the mental hospital for continued treatment.
Deputy Turner was survived by his wife and two children.
JAMES EUGENE ORR
End of Watch: July 2, 1973
Cause: Gunfire
Captain James Orr was shot and killed by a 22 year old Massachusetts man wanted for armed robbery. A sequence of events started when a lone gunman entered the office of a mobile home dealership north of Camden; tied up the manager; and robbed him of $190 in cash. The manager worked himself free seconds after the suspect fled and called the sheriff's department. Captain Orr was patrolling in Lugoff when he spotted a car matching the description of the suspects vehicle given by the manager. Captain Orr pulled the car over and was shot several times by the suspect as he got out of his patrol car.
Later in the day the suspect abducted at gunpoint a mother and her four daughters from their home several miles away. He forced the mother with her four children to drive him in her car south toward Georgia. He released his hostages, unharmed, just outside of Savannah.
ERNEST CHRISTIAN POTTER, III
End of Watch: February 21, 1974
Cause: Gunfire
Deputy Sheriff Ernest Potter was shot and killed when he and his partner stopped to investigate two men who were hitchhiking on I-20. As the deputies stepped out of their patrol car, a third suspect surprised them from behind a guardrail and held them at gunpoint.
The three suspects walked the two deputies down an embankment, where they opened fire on both deputies. Deputy Potter was struck in the head several times and killed. The other deputy was shot in the head and seriously wounded.
The three suspects had murdered Patrolman Richey Finch of the Forest Acres Police Department when Patrolman Finch stopped their vehicle several hours earlier. The shooter was sentenced to life plus 99 years. As of 2020, he was still in prison.
Deputy Potter was survived by his expectant wife and son. In 1997 his son became a Richland County Deputy.
ROBERT L. EVANS
End of Watch: November 26, 2013
Cause: Heart Attack
Deputy Evans was directing traffic at Wateree Elementary School when he collapsed in the roadway from a heart attack. Two nurses were in line to pick up their children and saw Deputy Evans fall to the ground. They immediately went to his aid and began administering CPR to him. Lugoff Fire Department responded and assisted. He was then transported to Kershaw Health, and later to Providence Hospital in Columbia where he passed away at 5:30am the next morning.
Deputy Evans was a School Resource Officer at Lugoff-Elgin Middle School where he worked for about 7 years. He was the Voice of the Demons, announcing Lugoff-Elgin football games for several years. He started the STARS summer camps for middle school aged kids.
Deputy Evans had been with the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office for 14 years and is survived by his wife and two children.
Other Law Enforcement Officers’ End of Watch in Kershaw County
ROBERT LATTA
Camden Police Department
End of Watch: January 24, 1919
Cause: Gunfire
Patrolman Latta was shot and killed while responding to a domestic disturbance in which a husband was attempting to kill his wife. Patrolman Latta was shot by the man when he arrived at the scene. The suspect was then shot and wounded by several citizens and taken into custody. The suspect died in jail from his wounds days later.
Patrolman Latta had been in law enforcement for 30 years and was survived by his wife, son, daughter, and sister.
JESSE FLETCHER BATEMAN
State Constable
End of Watch: July 17, 1919
Cause: Gunfire
Constable Bateman succumbed to a gunshot wound sustained the previous day when he and the chief of the Camden Police Department were ambushed while raiding a still in the Beaver Dam section of Kershaw County about seven miles east of Camden.
The two officers were approaching the still and were walking across a fallen tree, in order to cross a stream. As they approached the opposite side of the stream, they were ambushed by two moonshiners.
Constable Bateman was struck once in the chest. Although mortally wounded, he was able to return fire along with the police chief and mortally wounded his killer. The other suspect escaped but was captured a short time later along with the killer's 17-year-old son. Both were charged with murder. Constable Bateman was taken to a local hospital and then transported by train to a hospital in Columbia, where he died during surgery the following day.
Constable Bateman had served as a state constable for many years and had previously served as a deputy sheriff.
HARDY MERLE GODBOLD
South Carolina Highway Patrol
End of Watch: February 29, 1992
Cause: Vehicle Pursuit
Trooper Hardy Godbold was killed when his marked Ford Mustang patrol car was pushed into a bunch of trees by a drunk driver. The driver was charged with felony drunk driving.
Trooper Godbold had served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for almost five years. He was survived by his wife, two daughters, mother, brother, and sister.
On September 19th, 2009, Lance Corporal Jonathan Nash was killed in a motorcycle accident on the same highway while escorting a memorial charity ride in memory of Trooper Godbold.
FERRIS EDWARD CATOE, III
Camden Police Department
End of Watch: July 10, 2000
Cause: Automobile Crash
Corporal Ferris Catoe was killed after being involved in an automobile accident.
His patrol car, a 1994 Ford Taurus, broadsided a truck which had entered an intersection after running a stop sign. He was transported to a local hospital where he died approximately 30 minutes later. Corporal Catoe's canine was also injured in the accident.
Corporal Catoe had served with the Camden Police Department for one year and had served in law enforcement for eight years. He is survived by his son, wife, stepson, parents, and brother.
JONATHAN SHEA NASH
South Carolina Highway Patrol
End of Watch: September 19, 2009
Cause: Motorcycle Crash
Corporal Jonathan Nash was killed in a motorcycle accident while escorting a memorial charity ride in memory of Trooper Hardy Godbold when the driver of a vehicle pulled in front of Corporal Nash's motorcycle, causing a collision.
The ride was traveling on Route 1 in Camden at 10 am when the driver turned out of the parking lot, failing to yield to the motorcycle.
Trooper Godbold was also killed on the same roadway during a vehicle pursuit on February 28, 1992.
Corporal Nash was a United States Marine Corps Desert Storm veteran and served with the South Carolina Highway Patrol for 15 years. He is survived by his daughter, parents, brother, and sister.
