Witnesses say man killed in Horry Co. road-rage shooting was driving erratically, flashing gun

HORRY COUNTY, SC (WMBF) - The first day of a hearing to decide the fate of a deadly and controversial Horry County road rage shooting is in the books.

The long-awaited stand-your-ground hearing over the deadly shooting of Scott Spivey began Tuesday morning. South Carolina’s stand-your-ground law applies when the use of deadly force is deemed lawful.

Authorities said Weldon Boyd, the owner of Buoys on the Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, shot and killed Scott Spivey in September 2023 along Camp Swamp Road in the Longs area following a road-rage incident.

Boyd and his passenger, Kenneth Williams, have never been charged in the case.

What is at stake in this hearing

This multi-day hearing in Conway is to review Boyd and Williams’s self-defense claims.

While this review will focus on the civil case against the two, its implications extend to criminal law.

If the judge grants immunity under the stand-your-ground law, it would end any civil or potential criminal cases against Boyd or Williams.

Opening statements

Williams’ attorney, Morgan Martin, outlined the case, stating Spivey was driving drunk and people reported him for waving a gun. Martin said Boyd and Williams ended up in a median because of Spivey’s actions, and that a gun was pointed at them while on Highway 9.

Martin told the court that Spivey was not shot in the back along Camp Swamp Road, according to the autopsy.

The attorney emphasized that Williams was in the passenger seat and was not driving the car.

Martin claimed the Horry County Police Department’s handling of the case had nothing to do with the proceeding. HCPD had been accused of misconduct during the investigation of the shooting.

Boyd’s defense claims no law broken

Boyd’s attorney said there was no law regarding following someone. The defense stated that over a 14-mile span, there was no law enforcement in sight to get Spivey off the road.

The attorney said Boyd was doing his part in following Spivey to get him off the road while in contact with 911, who never told him to stop following.

Spivey family alleges chase and murder

The Spivey family’s attorney, Mark Tinsley, claimed Boyd chased Spivey at speeds over 100 mph from Colonial Charters to Camp Swamp Road.

The attorney read a quote from a phone call where Boyd told his mother he was chasing Scott Spivey.

The family’s attorney said Boyd shot first and questioned why Boyd would need HCPD help if he did nothing wrong.

The attorney claimed Boyd was having a bad day and was angry, leading to a chase that resulted in murder. The attorney referenced a recording where Williams said, “God [expletive] why couldn’t you just leave him alone?”

Testimony begins

The first person to take the stand was a detective from HCPD’s homicide unit, Det. Sotile.

The courtroom looked over a video showing Spivey at Boardwalk Billy’s, a seafood restaurant in North Myrtle Beach, where Spivey racked up a $109 bill.

Spivey’s bill included eight Fireball shots, seven Miller Lites over a roughly five-hour span.

HCPD only obtained partial footage of Spivey at the bar, not the full time frame. But according to that footage, three of the fireball shots were for the gentleman next to him, and Spivey was slowly sipping on a beer.

Another video was shown in the courtroom from a gas station along Highway 17, with a time stamp of 5:53 p.m.

It showed Boyd and Spivey driving along Highway 17, with Sotile saying it appeared both trucks were driving the speed limit.

But Sotile did not know how exactly fast the trucks were going. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division had reports with varying speeds, but Sotile could not testify to those numbers.

Another member of the homicide unit, Det. Michael Quick, took the stand after Sotile. Quick described responding to the scene and helping the lead detective.

Witnesses take the stand

One of the people Quick interviewed after the shooting also took the stand on Tuesday.

The witness described Spivey’s driving as “crazy” and said he pointed a gun at her near the Belle Dealership area. She said she was traveling about 35 mph in the right lane while Spivey was in the left lane, but she didn’t know how fast Spivey was going because he kept changing his speed.

The witness said she decided to stay back and eventually saw Boyd approach. Near the Food Lion in the Longs community on Highway 9, she described seeing Spivey run Boyd and Kenneth Williams off the road into the median.

She said Spivey kept stopping in front of Boyd and that “the guy in the white truck was doing nothing wrong.”

The witness was on the phone with 911 while traveling down Camp Swamp Road.

The witness described the shooting but said she did not see Spivey get out of his vehicle.

She said she did not see the white truck driven by Boyd and Williams causing any trouble.

According to her testimony, Spivey stopped first along Camp Swamp Road after cutting in front of Boyd and Williams. A detective clarified that Spivey cut across lanes to get in front of Boyd when he noticed they were turning.

From her angle, the witness said she couldn’t see anyone get out of the truck, and when she heard the shot, nobody was outside the white truck.

Tinsley, the Spivey family’s attorney, pointed out that the witness said Spivey was with her at the Belle and Belle dealership, but this is not seen on the dealership’s video.

Tinsley also said that Spivey was going 62 mph around the Belle and Belle intersection, where she said she was going 35 mph.

Another witness took the stand after a lunch break.

He testified that he came up behind Boyd on Charter Drive and was behind Boyd and Williams at the Waccamaw River when he first saw Spivey’s black truck.

The man said Spivey came up behind him around the Aberdeen Golf Course and that he made a comment to his wife about how fast Spivey was going. The witness said Spivey started the incident by brake-checking around the Waccamaw River area.

He said he saw Spivey pointing a gun. He said the blocking and running off the road occurred between Aberdeen Golf Course and Food Lion as they approached Longs.

This witness also pushed back on the length of the chase, saying it was only three to four miles from the shooting when things escalated.

He testified that he was stopped at the 905 light and then traveled at regular speed to Camp Swamp Road. When he arrived at Camp Swamp Road, he said Spivey’s door was open, and Boyd and Williams were still in their vehicle.

The man said he did not witness anyone else driving recklessly on the road other than Spivey, which made him feel concerned for his safety.

Tinsley challenged this witness, saying that what he testified to was different from a statement he gave in 2023.

Another witness came to the stand Tuesday afternoon and also characterized Spivey’s driving as crazy, saying Spivey cut her off on Highway 9, and she slowed down not to get hit.

This witness testified that Spivey pointed the pistol at an older couple pulled over on the side of the road.

The witness tried to get more information about Spivey’s reckless driving, but she lost sight of Spivey, and the shooting happened shortly after.

9-1-1 called played

One of the many 9-1-1 calls made that day was played in court.

The caller told dispatchers she was not trying to speed, but she was trying to get away from Spivey. She also said she did not want to get shot.

She reported seeing Spivey turn onto Camp Swamp Road, with Boyd and Williams behind, and then Spivey get out of his truck before the shooting.

The hearing will resume at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

Background

Boyd and Williams have maintained they fired shots at Spivey in self-defense.

So far, authorities have agreed with that.

Days after the shooting, 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson asked the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office to get involved with the case.

In April 2024, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office declined to charge Boyd, citing insufficient evidence.

Then, in August 2025, the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office told the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division that it believed the stand-your-ground law was applicable in the shooting death of Spivey.

The lawsuits

The shooting has spanned multiple lawsuits, with Spivey’s family filing one against Boyd and Williams.

This lawsuit claims Spivey died in a “hail of gunfire” as Boyd chased Spivey.

Spivey’s estate claims that Boyd’s 911 call proves that Boyd was chasing him.

Meanwhile, in a lawsuit filed by Boyd against the attorney for the Spivey family, Mark Tinsley, Boyd claims Spivey single-handedly initiated the road rage incident by stalking and assaulting Boyd and others on Horry County highways, and waving a gun.

Boyd’s complaint also cites 911 calls, specifically from witnesses.

Boyd said that prior to the shootout, multiple other 911 calls also reported that Spivey was acting aggressively and unlawfully and confirmed “Boyd’s evasive measures.”

The lawsuit also mentions the autopsy results, which Boyd said indicated Spivey was heavily intoxicated at the time of his death and that he was also suffering the effects of chronic abuse of anabolic steroids.

Shooting investigation

The Horry County Police Department’s investigation of the shooting has come under fire.

Spivey’s family has claimed the investigation was mishandled from the start, possibly due to Boyd’s friendship with ex-Horry County Deputy Chief Brandon Strickland.

Recorded phone calls of Boyd and Strickland speaking after the shooting notably captured Strickland speaking candidly about the case with Boyd.

Strickland resigned following allegations of misconduct in the case.

Strickland was not the only one to leave the force as HCPD conducted an internal investigation.

Body camera clips attorneys shared from the Sept. 9, 2023, shooting captured former HCPD Patrol Sgt. Paul “Damon” Vescovi flashing a written note that read, “Act like a victim. Camera,” to two men, Boyd and Williams.

HCPD fired Vescovi. Documents from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy indicate he is under investigation, but charges have not been filed against him.

The internal investigation also found that seven dashcam videos in HCPD’s investigation of the Camp Swamp Road shooting were improperly handled and mislabeled.

HCPD sent those videos to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which is investigating whether HCPD officers engaged in any misconduct in the case.

AG asks for review of deadly Horry County road-rage shooting investigation

These allegations against HCPD’s investigation led Attorney General Alan Wilson to ask 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette in October to look over the investigation into the shooting death of Spivey.

Wilson stated in a letter to Barnette that, once details of the HCPD’s investigation reached civil attorney Mark Tinsley and Spivey’s family amid a lawsuit filed by his estate, questions about the case arose.

Wilson wants Barnette to review the case to see if the allegations of misconduct would change the initial finding by the attorney general’s office that the shooting falls under the stand-your-ground law.

On a podcast, Wilson said that if the review brings out new information that would change the stand-your-ground analysis, Barnette can make a different call and make “whatever prosecutive decisions” Barnette feels are appropriate.

Had Spivey survived, he would have been the one charged with a felony for driving under the influence and brandishing a firearm, Wilson said on the podcast.

Grand jury review

Earlier in February, the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office confirmed a grand jury will review the case.

A state grand jury is typically convened so prosecutors can present the facts and findings of a case to determine whether a person should be indicted.

But it is unclear what the grand jury will be reviewing. Attorneys on both sides said there are multiple issues the grand jury could review, such as how Horry County police handled the case or the actions of Boyd and Williams.

The attorneys said none of that information will be available unless the grand jury decides to hand down an indictment.

But again, if immunity is granted in the stand-your-ground hearing, the grand jury’s review will be over.

Stay with WMBF News for updates.

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