Officials step up security for Wise trial

Jury selection in Beaufort continues as Aiken area prepares for Phelon plant shooting case to begin

Web posted Friday, January 26, 2001

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By Rick Green
South Carolina Bureau

AIKEN - Spectators at the trial of Arthur Hastings Wise will go through strict security checks when the high-profile case gets under way in Aiken.

A jury could be selected today in the murder trial of Arthur Hastings Wise. FILE/STAFF

Jurors are being selected this week in Beaufort, S.C. After jury selection is complete, the trial will be moved to Aiken.

Mr. Wise, 46, is charged in the 1997 killings of four workers at the R.E. Phelon Co. plant in Aiken.

Sheriff Howard L. Sellers asked the public Thursday for ``understanding and cooperation'' with the new security measures.

Sheriff's Sgt. George Burgess said that officials are ``preparing for eventualities,'' but that there have been no threats against Mr. Wise.

``We will have adequate security at that trial. It is a capital murder trial, so we are attuned to difficulties that could possibly arise,'' Sgt. Burgess said.

Spectators will enter the judicial center through the side entrance, which faces St. Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, and will be asked to pass past a metal detector.

The metal detector was not purchased specifically for the Wise trial but has been a project of the clerk of court and the sheriff's office.

``This has been a long-term project designed to provide greater protection for the public and courthouse personnel,'' the sheriff said.

Sheriff Sellers said court officials have told him that other trials will be under way during the Wise proceedings and that large crowds are expected at the judicial center.

``We anticipate a large crowd at the courthouse, but if the public understands the situation and cooperates, we will have minimal disruptions,'' Sheriff Sellers said.

He suggested that people arrive early to allow time for the security checks.

Aiken prosecutors have been in Beaufort this week picking a jury. Mr. Wise is accused of killing four people and wounding three others during a shooting spree at the Phelon plant in 1997.

Beaufort County Clerk of Court Elizabeth Smith said Thursday afternoon that 35 people have been chosen for the pool from which the jurors will be selected. Court officials want a pool of 40 people for the panel.

Ms. Smith said jurors could be selected today and the trial might begin this weekend in Aiken.

Reach Rick Green at (803) 279-6895 or scbureau@augustachronicle.com.

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