John Ramsey
East Coast United States, Richmond
Former local criminal justice editor at The Washington Post, Projects Team reporter for The Post and Courier and enterprise editor in Richmond.
Articles by John Ramsey
OPINION: Is the 1st District’s Andy Harris worth saving?
I was glad to see that Tatiana Croissette is back from resting on her laurels after the election of the Donald. I’ll go out on a limb and guess that she’s a supporter. In the Feb. 12 edition of the KCN, she complains about Democratic gerrymandering in Maryland.
I've covered disasters around the world. After Helene ripped through the NC mountains, I went home.
GREEN CREEK, N.C. — The morning drive from near Spartanburg past Asheville, N.C., remains deceptively serene along Interstate 26, fog lingering over the valleys, a smattering of fallen trees nature's only sign of what lies hidden in the hills. Trucks carrying cases of water or construction equipment offer a hint that all isn't well here. Look up and the helicopters designed for war provide another clue.
I've covered disasters around the world. After Helene ripped through the NC mountains, I went home.
GREEN CREEK, N.C. — The morning drive from near Spartanburg past Asheville, N.C., remains deceptively serene along Interstate 26, fog lingering over the valleys, a smattering of fallen trees nature's only sign of what lies hidden in the hills. Trucks carrying cases of water or construction equipment offer a hint that all isn't well here. Look up and the helicopters designed for war provide another clue.
Sweet Grass Vodka owner says he’s a victim of swindlers in new lawsuit
The money’s on the way. Jarrod Swanger made that pledge for nearly a decade to deflect investors who are now fighting to recoup millions of dollars they handed over to him. In a twist of fate, Swanger says he fell for the same line. And it led to the demise of his Charleston company that sold Sweet Grass Vodka. On Sept.
Water intrusion destabilizes Peoples Building, forces evacuation of Charleston's oldest high-rise
The first tall building erected in Charleston sits empty on Broad Street, a victim of water and time. Everyone was ordered out of the Peoples Building on Aug. 19 after an engineer determined the steel support beam in one corner of the building had so much rust damage that the outer wall was cracking under the pressure of weight it wasn't designed to carry. Rain seeping in from above is most likely to blame.
As Debby drenches SC, how resistant are the state's thousands of dams?
Water spilled over the top of the McGrady Dam in Colleton County as Tropical Storm Debby dumped rain for days across chunks of South Carolina. County officials warned nearby residents to evacuate in case the dam couldn’t withstand the soaking. McGrady held up to the growing pressure, but the episode triggered questions about the condition of other dams across South Carolina nearly a decade after historic rains caused dozens of them to rupture, contributing to massive flooding and damage.
The feds indicted a doctor for fraud. Was he the fall guy in a Southern pill-pushing ring?
SUMTER — Federal investigators were waiting for Dr. Henry Emery when he finished his shift at a South Carolina clinic. That night in November 2021, DEA agents probing his part-time work in telemedicine gave him a target letter accusing him of felony prescription crimes. It came with a subpoena and a message: The only way to save yourself is to help us catch your boss.
Sweet Grass Vodka owner's profits seized from the $1.7M sale of his Mount Pleasant home
The owner of a rapidly unraveling Charleston vodka company sold his million-dollar house and lost a large chunk of the profits in a court order. Jarrod Swanger bought a 2,300-square-foot house in Mount Pleasant in 2020 months after launching Sweet Grass Vodka, a business investors now say was built on a series of falsehoods. Swanger convinced those investors to give him millions of dollars and lured actor Jeremy Renner to be the face of his brand, even calling him a co-owner.
What do Mica Miller's newly released toxicology scan and medical examiner's report show?
A toxicology report on Mica Miller's body found no drugs or alcohol in her system after she was found dead in a North Carolina state park. The report by Medical Examiner Jennifer Altman, obtained June 24 by The Post and Courier, says an autopsy was not performed because there was no concern of foul play. Authorities determined she had died by suicide.
Telemed addiction doctor accused of scheme to write prescriptions in other doctors' names
A North Carolina doctor with ties to an embattled telemedicine operation for opioid addiction has been charged with participating in a conspiracy to illegally use other physicians' prescription-writing privileges for controlled substances. Dr. Henry Emery, former medical director of a multistate company called Bupe.me, already faced a conspiracy charge related to 10 other counts of prescribing the addiction treatment drug buprenorphine for no legitimate medical purpose.
Charleston's mayor has a plan for city's homeless. But will it work as prices keep rising?
The blue tent isn’t visible from the busy street. Annita Martinez keeps her entire life in the refuge behind a vacant brick building in the heart of downtown Charleston. Perched in her motorized wheelchair, she’s both exposed and hidden. Her hideaway is tucked from view, close enough to hear footsteps on the sidewalk and songs blaring from car stereos.
The double life of pastor J.P. Miller: How Mica Miller's death exposed the sins of her husband Original
MYRTLE BEACH — From the pulpit of his church, John-Paul Miller had a warning for his congregation. Reading through his wife's text messages, he said, he counted 18 people who had contacted her in the last two years promising they'd keep her secrets if she ever needed someone to talk with about him. On that day this past March, Miller was in the midst of a messy divorce initiated by his 30-year-old wife, Mica.
'Pill Messiah' subject of grand jury probe into offshore accounts, PPP loan and taxes
Medical entrepreneur Douglas Smith has been named in a federal grand jury investigation looking into offshore accounts, tax issues and a loan tied to his telemedicine company that treats opioid dependence. The criminal probe surrounding the Bupe.me founder is the latest sign of trouble for the nonprofit treatment company.
Dorchester septic tank pollution flows downhill and has spewed through one neighborhood for years
Video Player is loading. Current Time 0:00 Duration -:- Remaining Time -0:00 Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. End of dialog window. (Clicking on any video link constitutes consent to collection and sharing of your personal video viewing data with various Post and Courier partners.) Every time Isaias Martinez flushes the toilet or washes his hands, he risks losing his home.
Mayesville mayor sues town council members and town clerk
MAYESVILLE - The mayor of this small town is suing four Mayesville officials, escalating a power struggle that has been brewing since he was elected last year. Mayor Chris Brown wants a judge to confirm he has the power to fire the town clerk he …
Mayesville mayor sues town council members and town clerk
Shrimpers note a cautious optimism heading into the new season, which starts April 19 in provisional areas. White shrimp populations have stayed above the long-term average since January, due to warm water temperatures through the winter, but shrimpers still worry the market is oversaturated with imported, farm-raised shrimp. Read moreAt start of season, shrimpers are 'cautiously optimistic' despite market concerns
Mayesville mayor sues town council members and town clerk in latest round of ongoing feud
The mayor of Mayesville is suing four town officials, escalating a small-town power struggle that has been brewing since he was elected last year. Mayor Chris Brown wants a judge to confirm he has the power to fire the town clerk he accuses of undermining his ability to run the town and to admonish three town council members for running a shadow government outside public view.
Failing septic tanks are polluting the SC coast. Thousands more are going in the ground.
Septic tanks are silently spewing filth into a creek on James Island, where the $12 million set aside for sewer lines may not solve the problem. In Berkeley County, fetid water is rising to the surface, turning the yards of a gated housing development into swamps. Just north of Charleston in the town of Awendaw, hundreds of homes with septic tanks are planned near a coastal wildlife refuge, a move that environmental groups warn will threaten some of the cleanest waters on the South Carolina coast.
What we know about the Army chaplain student who died at Fort Jackson
COLUMBIA — A chaplain candidate student at Fort Jackson died after collapsing during the morning physical training run on Feb. 26. It's the fourth enlistee death at the base within a year. The student was enlisted in the U.S. Army Institute for Religious Leadership, housed at Fort Jackson, where all of the Army's chaplains are trained. The morning physical run is part of the Chaplain Basic Officer Leader Course.
Mayesville chaos continues with canceled meetings, fight at town office
MAYESVILLE — The simmering dysfunction in this town ramped up this week with conflicting messages about town meetings, a ruckus in municipal offices that left the town clerk injured enough to visit a doctor and the mayor stumping for a crowd from atop a bench in a crowded hallway. Mayor Chris Brown had called for a town council meeting on Jan. 24 followed by a meeting of the nonprofit board linked to economic development in Mayesville.
Mayesville mayor holds canceled meeting in a hallway without support of council
Outside Mary McLeod Bethune Learning Center in the town of Mayesville, recently elected Mayor Chris Brown taped copies of the Jan. 23 agendas for two town meetings. The next day, the small town in Sumter County saw those meetings canceled then …
Uncovered: Mayesville elected a new mayor. Then things got weird.
This article is part of The Post and Courier's Uncovered project, an ongoing initiative to shed light on corruption in South Carolina. The Post and Courier has partnered with 18 community newspapers, including The Sumter Item, across the state to bring investigative journalism to light. To read more Uncovered articles, visit www.postandcourier.com/uncovered.
Mayesville SC's race for mayor sparked a power struggle
MAYESVILLE — Chris Brown’s 27-vote margin of victory in the November mayor’s race was nearly a landslide in this small town, where more than half of the population showed up to cast a ballot. Winning would turn out to be the easy part. Brown moved to South Carolina from Utah two years ago. Last fall, he stunned many locals by unseating Mayor Jereleen Miller, whose family roots in Mayesville reach back centuries.
Coast Guard suspends search for cruise ship passenger who fell overboard off Charleston
The Coast Guard has stopped searching for a cruise ship passenger who fell into the ocean Dec. 23 about 100 miles off the coast of Charleston. Air crews spent eight hours and covered more than 1,625 square miles trying to find the 41-year-old passenger who fell off a Royal Caribbean Cruise on Dec. 23 before calling off the search the next day. No further details were immediately available. The call came around 7:15 p.m. on Dec.
Christmas Eve murders half a mile apart in North Charleston
North Charleston police are investigating a pair of Christmas eve homicides that happened about half a mile apart. Police found a man shot to death inside a car after receiving a call to 8251 Windsor Hill Boulevard around 7:45 p.m. Then, at 11:20 p.m., they responded to reports of a shooting at Parker’s Kitchen at the corner of Windsor HIll Boulevard and Ashley Phosphate Road. One person was found dead when police arrived.
Christmas Eve murders half a mile apart in North Charleston
Police are investigating a pair of Christmas eve homicides that happened about half a mile apart. North Charleston police found a man shot to death inside a car after receiving a call to 8251 Windsor Hill Boulevard around 7:45 p.m. Then, at 11:20 p.m., Dorchester County deputies responded to reports of a shooting at Parker’s Kitchen at the corner of Windsor Hill Boulevard and Ashley Phosphate Road. One person was found dead when police arrived.
Opioid treatment founder responds to lawsuit as Charleston judge recuses herself from case
The first hearing in a case aimed at removing medical entrepreneur Doug Smith from the telemedicine company he founded ended before it began Dec. 20 when the judge recused herself from the case. “That is a case that I cannot hear,” Circuit Court Judge Diane Goodstein said at the beginning of the virtual proceeding. Smith’s last-minute hiring of Charleston lawyer Lynn Seithel led to Goodstein’s decision to step aside, according to a message sent by her clerk.
Exemption or evasion? Doug Smith's $26 million tax bill and the clinic he calls a church
Six months after a judge ordered medical entrepreneur Doug Smith to pay $4.5 million to settle a Medicare fraud case, the IRS came calling with questions about an even larger income tax bill. On Nov.
5 takeaways from our investigation into Doug Smith's opioid treatment empire
In the years since he was stripped of his medical license, Douglas Smith has made millions off addiction, most recently as the operator of a telehealth drug treatment network that serves thousands of patients in more than 20 states, including South Carolina. Smith tells people he is on the verge of ending the opioid crisis through research he is conducting into genetic damage caused by painkillers.
Did bad weather play a role in Marine jet downing in SC?
Heavy rain, lightning and thunder pumped from swollen skies as a Marine fighter jet raced through the airspace over North Charleston on the afternoon of Sept. 17. The storms that day swamped roads and stranded drivers, but were they also powerful enough to cause a pilot to abandon his $90 million plane over South Carolina’s third largest city?
Marines: Investigation into missing F-35B fighter jet likely to take several months
BEAUFORT — Investigating what caused an F-25B II Lightning fighter jet to go missing over South Carolina and crash in a rural stretch of farmland and swamp will take several months, a Marine Corps official said Sept. 19. Col. Mark Bortnem, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, said authorities had blocked the airspace above the crash site in Williamsburg County and set up a security perimeter on the ground. He warned the public to stay away while the incident is investigated.
The F-35B: What you should know about the $90M fighter jet missing in SC
The military can’t find an airplane designed to avoid discovery after a pilot ejected from an F-35 over the Lowcountry. The missing stealth fighter, a model F-35B from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, is among a line of jets designed to evade radar detection. The B model, also known as the Lightning II, carries a $90 million price tag.
Missing no more: Marine fighter jet found in rural SC
STUCKEY — The hunt for a missing Marine Corps fighter jet ended in a rural expanse of farmland and swamp on Sept. 18 after a massive search across South Carolina for the elusive $90 million plane. An amalgam of military, law enforcement and civilian searchers scoured a sprawling expanse from the Lowcountry to the Pee Dee Dee before finding the downed F-35B Lightning II fighter jet in Williamsburg County a day after its pilot ejected.
Missing no more: Marine fighter jet found in rural SC
STUCKEY — The hunt for a missing Marine Corps fighter jet ended with wreckage found in a rural expanse of farmland and swamp on Sept. 18 after a massive search across South Carolina for the elusive $90 million plane. An amalgam of military, law enforcement and civilian searchers scoured a sprawling expanse from the Lowcountry to the Pee Dee before finding a “debris field” from the downed F-35B Lightning II fighter jet in Williamsburg County a day after its pilot ejected.
The F-35B: What you should know about the $90M fighter jet that went missing in SC
Find the latest updates on the missing jet here. The military spent a second day searching for an airplane designed to avoid discovery after a pilot ejected from an F-35 over the Lowcountry, finally finding wreckage in rural Williamsburg County. The stealth fighter, a model F-35B from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, is among a line of jets designed to evade radar detection. The B model, also known as the Lightning II, carries a $90 million price tag.
Idalia approaches South Carolina, producing tornado watches along the coast
Idalia approached South Carolina as a weaker storm than the one that tore through Florida, but its path from the south brought with it a risk for flooding and tornadoes across much of the state. Along the coast, especially around Charleston and the area to its south, the king tide combined with the storm surge is expected to flood streets and eat away beaches that in some towns haven’t recovered from Hurricane Ian last year.
Idalia approaches South Carolina, producing tornado watches along the coast
Idalia approached South Carolina as a weaker storm than the one that tore through Florida, but its path from the south brought with it a risk for flooding and tornadoes across much of the state. Along the coast, especially around Charleston and the area to its south, the king tide combined with the storm surge is expected to flood streets and eat away beaches that in some towns haven’t recovered from Hurricane Ian last year.
INTERACTIVE MAPS: See who Charleston's neighborhoods support financially in mayor's race
Home addresses tied to the campaign donations flowing into Charleston’s six-way race for mayor show not all areas of the city are supporting the candidates equally. A Post and Courier analysis of campaign finance data shows that within the city limits, the candidates with the largest fundraising bases — two-term incumbent Mayor John Tecklenburg and challenger William Cogswell — relied on high-dollar donors from the lower peninsula, despite its relatively low number of residents.
Suspect charged with murder in Aug. 6 shooting in downtown Charleston
U.S. Marshals arrested a North Charleston man who police said was wanted for a downtown Charleston fatal shooting. Charleston police charged Jaques Demetrius Jenkins-Smith, 29, with murder after federal agents apprehended him on Aug. 11. Jenkins-Smith also is charged with possessing a weapon while committing a violent crime in connection with the death of 32-year-old Akeem Jones. Jones was found shot on the 100 block of Stuart Street at 11 a.m. Aug. 6.
Driver wanted in I-26 hit-and-run in Dorchester Co. that killed trucker
A Mercedes-Benz sedan rear-ended a tractor trailer on Interstate 26, sending the truck careening off the road and into a tree, killing the driver, according to the South Carolina Highway Patrol. Authorities are still searching for the driver of the Mercedes, who left the scene after the collision. Both vehicles were headed west on I-26 about five miles west of Ridgeville in Dorchester County around 12:30 a.m. Aug.
6 months in, still no sign of boater Tyler Doyle. Family 'in a place where we can't move on:'
LORIS — The rumors open wounds that haven’t healed. This time, it was a TikTok video showing police cars gathered near rural North Carolina woods. The audio and a caption suggested the scene depicted the end of the long search for Tyler Doyle, a missing 22-year-old boater from Horry County. Shay Boyd, Tyler’s aunt, knew it couldn’t be true. Could it? It never is.
Folly Beach offers fun and serenity all at once
People like to call Folly Beach the "fun" beach, and maybe it is, especially if you're visiting for the restaurants and bars. But there's also a measure of serenity here if you know where, and when, to look. Here's the best way to find it: Get here early; 7 a.m. should work — before the traffic on the only road in and out becomes a nightmare.
Riverfront Park is a highlight of North Charleston
Why visit North Charleston when you're already so close to its more glamorous neighbors? The best answer is Riverfront Park — 12 acres that offer views of dolphins, giant ships and the future. Located on the former Charleston Naval Base along the Cooper River, the park is dotted with sculptures among its live oaks and open terrain. There's a dog park and restaurant on-site, and a splash pad area for kids in the summer.
At The Citadel, research finds new way to see buried bombs
In the hunt for buried bombs, researchers have deployed bacteria and bees, giant rats and German shepherds. The Navy trains bomb-detecting dolphins. Soldiers assigned to road patrol duty in Iraq and Afghanistan often performed one of the world's most dangerous jobs equipped with metal detectors and vehicles built to survive an explosion. There was a catch too: Look down to where the bombs might be buried and risk getting shot in an ambush.
On Pawleys Island, too much sand, yet not enough
PAWLEYS ISLAND — The beach at Pawleys Island is longer than it's been in more than a century. Those shifting sands carry a steep cost. As Pawleys grows, neighbors to its south are watching their beach wash away. It's a slow-motion disaster: First the water came for the live oaks, the parking lot and sand dunes, then it knocked over the boardwalk leading from the first house to what used to be the beach. And the rushing waters of the inlet that flows on the backside of Pawleys haven't let up.
How a sight-seeing Coast Guard cutter crash in the Galapagos ended Charleston captain's career
Next to the rocks jutting up from the South Pacific, the Coast Guard Cutter James, 400 feet long and 140 feet tall, looks like a toy boat in a bathtub. The photograph, taken under cloudy skies the morning of Aug. 8, was the whole reason the crew of 142had sailed so close to Sleeping Lion Rock in the Galapagos Islands. It was the last leg of a morning training run for the Charleston-based James with the Ecuadorian Navy.
The history of human waste in Charleston's waters runs deep
Keeping wastewater away from clean water is a problem as old as Charleston. Privies built too close to the shallow wells in the 19th century contaminated the drinking supply. Yellow fever, typhoid fever, consumption and cholera came in waves.
Amid growth and lax rules, a menace beneath lawns threatens SC waterways, health
From her dock overlooking James Island Creek, Mary Edna Fraser has painted this stretch of water at sunrise and sunset and every hour in between, capturing the subtle changes in lighting and ripples on the surface. A low-hanging live oak limb serves as her easel. The scene looks different than when she and her husband moved here more than 30 years ago, just before Hurricane Hugo. Development drove away the egrets that once nested nearby. The water keeps rising.
A small town's plan for the future collides with its past
IRMO — William Bowman remembers how he could see most of his small world from his aunt’s living room window: her nightclub and the nearby homes of his parents and grandparents. Peering out alongside him when he was about 10 years old, she promised this land would one day be his.
In Irmo, SC, a small town's plan for the future collided with its past
IRMO — William Bowman remembers how he could see most of his small world from his aunt’s living room window: her nightclub and the nearby homes of his parents and grandparents. Peering out alongside him when he was about 10 years old, she promised this land would one day be his.
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