Across the region

Woman, suspect die in carjacking incident

ACWORTH, GA. - A woman was killed in an accident during a carjacking, and a suspect was shot dead by a bystander while attempting to flee from the scene Monday, police said.

The woman died when a cement truck hit the SUV she and her carjacker suspect were riding in. The suspect was then shot by a man who had witnessed the crash, Cobb County police said.

Witnesses told police the woman, identified as Kimberly Boyd, 30, of Acworth, was carjacked in her white Toyota Sequoia at about 9:30 a.m. along Cobb Parkway near Acworth.

The suspect was trying to make a left turn when the SUV was broadsided by the oncoming cement truck, police said. The woman, in the passenger seat, was killed instantly.

The suspect was killed by a man identified as Shawn Robert, said Dana Pierce, a Cobb County police spokesman.

Gunmen sought in mall slaying, robbery

ATLANTA - Police and federal authorities are searching for gunmen who shot and killed an armored car guard at a mall before escaping with a bag filled with thousands of dollars.

The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon after Fritz Alphonse, a guard for AT Systems, picked up money from a store at the Mall West End in southwest Atlanta.

At least two gunmen approached Mr. Alphonse and struggled with him before one suspect shot him in the head, Atlanta police spokeswoman Sylvia Abernathy said. Mr. Alphonse's partner was waiting for the delivery in an armored car parked outside the mall.

The shooting took place in front of dozens of shoppers.

Police later found the getaway car, a green Pontiac Grand Prix, on a road in northwest Atlanta. It had been set on fire.

Chemical blast kills one worker, injures 2

TAYLORS, S.C. - One man was killed and two other workers were injured Monday during an explosion at the Carolina Polymers plant, officials said.

Nine firefighters also were taken to a hospital for observation after the blast, which released chemicals from a tank into the air, said a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Two contract workers were on the roof working on the tank when it exploded about 10:30 a.m., the sheriff's office said.

National Guardsmen head to Afghanistan

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Nearly three dozen South Carolina National Guard members hear have taken the first step in a yearlong deployment to Afghanistan.

The members of the 228th Signal Brigade will replace 35 other Guard members from that unit. They left Sunday for Fort Benning, Ga., where they will train for three weeks before heading overseas for a year.

The guardsmen will work in communications operations at Bagram Air Base near the capital city of Kabul.

Early morning blaze claims 3 businesses

ST. GEORGE, S.C. - Three businesses were destroyed and two other buildings were damaged in a fire that required more than 100 firefighters.

Two pharmacies and a law office were destroyed in the blaze that started about 1 a.m. Sunday.

It was unclear what started the fire behind Cash Drug. It spread to the St. George Pharmacy and the Bell and Witherspoon law offices.

Fire trucks from Dorchester, Colleton, Charleston and Orangeburg counties responded.

Inmate begins escape from roof of jail

GREENVILLE, S.C. - An inmate at the Greenville County Detention Center escaped after he made it to the jail's roof, officials said.

Greenville County Sheriff's deputies are looking for Brent Jeremy Gosnell, 23, who escaped with Arthur Jerome Williams Jr., 26, on Saturday. Mr. Williams was caught that day, a jail administrator said.

Scott Bodiford said the inmates got to the roof, jumped to a nearby tree and climbed to the ground.

They stripped off their prison uniforms and fled.

Mr. Gosnell was serving jail time on larceny and burglary charges, and Mr. Williams was in jail on burglary and petit larceny charges, Mr. Bodiford said.

Sting catches pair in flea market forgeries

COLUMBIA - Two people have been arrested and more than $1.3 million in counterfeit merchandise has been seized by officials following a sting operation in Lexington County.

Bai Haung and Tian Feng, both of West Columbia, have been charged with selling counterfeit goods at the Metro Flea Market on U.S. Highway 1.

The merchandise included sunglasses, shoes, handbags, hats, clothing and watches with counterfeit marks and was found at a warehouse in Lexington.