GABRIELLE "Gabbiee" SWAINSON - 15 yo/ Suspect: Freddie Grant - Columbia SC

A Midlands mother is looking for her 15-year-old

by Katie McKee
Posted: 08.19.2012 at 6:56 PM
Updated: 08.20.2012 at 5:10 PM



COLUMBIA (WACH) -- A Midlands mother has spent the weekend looking for her 15 year old daughter Gabrielle Swainson.

Elvia Swainson last saw her daughter early Saturday morning when she left her house in South East Columbia to go to work for a few hours, by the time she returned Gabby was gone.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department reports that Gabbiee went missing between 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.

Immediatley after realizing Gabbiee was not home, Swainson called her daughter's cell phone. The phone rang at first, but when she called again it went straight to voicemail.

Swainson called authorities and an investigator came to her house.

The mother says it appears that the only thing missing besides Gabbiee is her cell phone.

"I don't see where she's taken anything with her other than what she may have had on, which was her pink and black pajama pants and a black tee strap tank," said Swainson.

Swainson also said that Gabbiee has been busy this summer with guitar lessons and cheerleading. She recently made the JV cheerleading squad at Ridgeview High School.

Gabbiee is set to start back to school as a sophmore this Thursday.

"I believe she was really excited about that. I don't feel like she walked out of here or left here on her own," Swainson said.

Richland County Sheriff's Department is investigating the whereabouts of Gabbiee Swainson, interviewing acquaintances, family, and friends, while also following any leads.

Authorities say the preliminary investigation showed no signs of foul play. The informaiton compiled by investigators about Gabbiee and the situation are not traditional temperaments of a runaway.

If anyone has any information about Gabbiee please contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=790312#.UDOOsaMvB3U

Prayer vigil for missing Gabbiee Swainson

by WACH Fox News Center
Posted: 08.21.2012 at 11:09 PM

COLUMBIA (WACH) --A prayer vigil for a Midlands teen who has been missing since Saturday was held at the family's church.

Dozens of people around the community came together to pray for Gabbiee Swainson and her family.

Gathered at Right Direction Church Tuesday evening to reach out to a higher power.

Dwayne White, Gabbiee's Youth Pastor is not giving up hope.

"Gabbiee is a wonderful person, she's awesome, she sings she dances and has a very bright future, he has a very bright future and we don't want anything bad to happen to her to interrupt that so we love for her to come home." Said White.

The 15-year-old Midlands teen was reported missing from her home in Northeast Columbia.

"We just miss her and want her to come home." Said Carnell Johnson Jr. from Right Direction Church.

A Midlands mother has spent the weekend looking for her 15 year old daughter Gabrielle Swainson.

Elvia Swainson last saw her daughter early Saturday morning when she left her house in South East Columbia to go to work for a few hours, by the time she returned Gabby was gone.

The Richland County Sheriff's Department reports that Gabbiee went missing between 3 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 18.

Immediately after realizing Gabbiee was not home, Swainson called her daughter's cell phone. The phone rang at first, but when she called again it went straight to voicemail.

Swainson called authorities and an investigator came to her house.

The mother says it appears that the only thing missing besides Gabbiee is her cell phone.

"I don't see where she's taken anything with her other than what she may have had on, which was her pink and black pajama pants and a black tee strap tank," said Swainson.

Swainson also said that Gabbiee has been busy this summer with guitar lessons and cheerleading. She recently made the JV cheerleading squad at Ridgeview High School.

Gabbiee is set to start back to school as a sophomore this Thursday.

"I believe she was really excited about that. I don't feel like she walked out of here or left here on her own," Swainson said.

Richland County Sheriff's Department is investigating the whereabouts of Gabbiee Swainson, interviewing acquaintances, family, and friends, while also following any leads.

Authorities say the preliminary investigation showed no signs of foul play. The information compiled by investigators about Gabbiee and the situation are not traditional temperaments of a runaway.

If anyone has any information about Gabbiee please contact Crimestoppers at 1-888-CrimeSC.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=791282#.UDUAB6MvB3U

Elvia Swainson asks for public's help finding Gabbiee Swainson

The search is on in South Carolina for a missing cheerleader.

Gabbiee Swainson, 15, disappeared from her Columbia home days ago.

Now, her mother is asking for the public's help in finding her daughter.

"I want to thank you. Please pray. We stopping all of them, they gonna stop today," said Elvia Swainson.

Drivers in the Summits are getting stopped for a flyer of a girl whose mother has no clue how her daughter vanished or where she is.

"We are doing everything possible that we can think of to bring my baby home. I believe she is still alive," said Swainson.

She says she came home from work around 7 a.m. Saturday to Gabbiee's alarm clock going off, but no Gabbiee.

"I didn't see her in her bed and I panicked. I froze at that moment," said Swainson.

She says her daughter would never run away from home. She didn't take her keys or her purse. The only thing missing is hercell phone.
"We have all been calling and texting and, at this point, nothing. The phone is going straight to voicemail," said Swainson.

She has been canvassing neighborhoods since Saturday.

"I'm on autopilot. I have to bring my baby home. I look this way now, but at night I can't sleep. I'm driving around in my car yelling her name out," said Swainson.

While she's been looking for some sign of her only child, the community gathered in church to pray for Gabbiee's safe return.

Swainson has hired a private investigator who says every minute Gabbiee is missing matters.

"You better listen up. If you have a teenage daughter or a son and
they go missing, it's usually classified as a runaway. And, if you don't
take matters into your own hands, sooner than later, then your efforts
may be in vain, and we just hope our efforts won't be in vain," said
Chandra Cleveland-Jennings.

Investigators say there are no signs of foul play.

http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/334387/28/Mother-asks-for-publics-help-in-finding-missing-cheerleader

08/23/2012
Fifteen-year-old Gabrielle Swainson vanished from her home in South
Carolina on Saturday morning. Her disappearance is verging on a week
old, and there haven't appeared to be any major updates lending toward a
positive outcome. The details surrounding her disappearance are scary.
Her mother claims to have been gone while the teen was asleep in her
bed, but when she returned home the girl's alarm clock was going off but
she was not home. Since then there have been no known sightings, and
only worry.

Today
a body was found that had people in SC worried there would be a
connection with the missing teen. However, that body has since been
ruled out of being connected to the disappearance. Gabrielle Swainson is
still missing, regardless of her family's pleas for help on HLN and
other outlets.
Today at 4 p.m., EST,
search parties met at Bush River Road Walmart and Two Notch Road to
scour the area for the missing cheerleader. If you want to be a part of
any of the search groups looking for the missing teen, please consider
doing so. All the help that can be offered is surely to be appreciated
when it comes to bringing Gabrielle home.
What happened to the missing cheerleader?
There are just not enough details on which to draw a conclusion, but it
seems possible that someone snatched the girl right out of her home. Her
mother was not around to witness the girl leaving for school or
anything else, so this leaves plenty of room for confusion. There also
hasn't been any reports of this 15-year-old having a history of running
away -- like some girls her age tend to do. She is a cheerleader, so
it's safe to say she was relatively popular. Did she have a boyfriend?
Does her mother have any former boyfriends or enemies?
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981574794

The FBI has joined the search for a South Carolina cheerleader who vanished without a trace from her bedroom.


Gabrielle Swainson, 15, disappeared between 3:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. last
Saturday, during the time her mother was at work, police said.

When mother Elvia Swainson returned home Saturday morning, Gabrielle's bed was empty.

"I grabbed my phone and started calling her number. The number rang a couple of times then it stopped," Swainson said.

Several more attempts to reach her daughter went straight to voicemail, she said.



Although there were no signs of foul play, investigators believe the teen's disappearance was not voluntary.

"Her purse was still there with her charger for her phone in it and all
the ingredients of her purse like her wallet and her credit card,
everything is still there," said Chandra Cleveland-Jennings, a private
investigator hired by Swainson.

Cleveland-Jennings said there has been no activity on the teen's phone
since her disappearance. Police have not said whether they have been
able to locate a signal.

Gabrielle missed the first day of her sophomore year of high school on
Thursday at Ridge View High School, where she had just made the junior
varsity cheerleading squad.

"I don't know what has happened. I don't know how it happened and this
is really a nightmare. It really is," Elvia Swainson said. "It's the
worst situation a parent could be in."
http://abcnews.go.com/US/gabrielle-swainson-fbi-joins-search-missing-south-carolina/story?id=17078903#.UDlIlqDhcfY

$6,000 reward offered for information regarding missing SC teen



08/27/2012(CBS/AP) COLUMBIA, S.C. - Authorities are now offering a $6,000
reward for information regarding missing 15-year-old Gabrielle Swainson,
who disappeared last week. The investigation into the case has expanded
into one of the sheriff department's largest and most intensive
searches in years.
Pictures: S.C. cheerleader vanishes without a trace
Richland
County Sheriff Leon Lott said an anonymous donor contributed $2,500 to
the reward fund and his department matched it, along with $1,000 from
Crimestoppers.
More than 40 county and federal law agents are now
on the case full time, including a behavioral scientist from the FBI's
psychological unit, The State reported.
"This is a major case for them," Lott said.
Lott
said the department's crime lab also has analysts and scientists
working full time on the case in addition to about 50 officials from his
department and other departments who are on standby status to swing
into action if needed.
The National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children has also sent a consultant to work with Lott's
department, according to The State.
"We are on this 24/7 and have a command post set up coordinating things," Lott said.
Four
large black Suburban SUVs driven by FBI agents were seen at the
Swainson house late Sunday afternoon. Agents got in the vehicles and
drove off.
The teen's friends and family have spent the past several days passing out flyers with her picture.
Swainson
was expected to start her sophomore year at Ridge View High School on
Thursday, but her mother said she last saw her daughter asleep in her
bed early morning on Aug. 18 when she went to work. When the mother
returned, the teen was missing.
It is believed that Swainson was
wearing her pajamas when she disappeared, The State reported. The only
known possession she had with her was her iPhone. Lott declined to
comment on what, if any information, police have gotten from electronic
queries to that iPhone.
"We remain hopeful that we will find Gabbiee alive," Lott said Sunday night.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57501111-504083/gabrielle-swainson-fbi-agents-involved-$6000-reward-offered-for-information-regarding-missing-sc-teen/

Gabbiee Swainson News Conference Set for Today

7:09 AM, Aug 28, 2012
Written by Tony Santaella

Richland County, SC (WLTX) - Richland County deputies will update the latest in the search for a missing 15-year-old Tuesday morning.

Officers announced they will discuss the disappearance of Gabbiee Swainson at 10 a.m. news conference.

Swainson hasn't been seen since the early morning hours of August 18.

Previous Coverage: Swainson's Absence Felt on 1st Day of School | FBI Joins Search | Deputies Search for Missing 15-Year-Old

Groups have been gathering every evening to knock on doors and hand out flyers with her picture. The sheriff's department and her mother don't believe she is a runaway.

Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or e-mail a tip in to Crimestoppers of the Midlands. You can also text information in by texting "TIPSC" plus your message to CRIMES (274637). Either way you choose, your identity will remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/199354/2/Update-on-Missing-Teen-Investigation-Coming-Today

Freddie Grant Arrested in Kidnapping of Gabbiee Swainson

1:06 PM, Aug 28, 2012
Written by Tony Santaella

Elgin, SC (WLTX) - Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott says a suspect has been arrested for forcibly kidnapping 15-year-old Gabbiee Swainson, but the girl herself has yet to be located.

Officers say 52-year-old Freddie Grant is accused of taking the girl. Lott says Grant was an acquaintance of the Swainson family.

According to the sheriff's investigators, Grant took Swainson early on the morning of August 18 at her home in Richland County.

Lott says there was no forced entry into the home, but he knows that she was not taken willingly from the home. The sheriff says his officers believe Grant then took her to his home. What happened next is still unknown.

"When we initially interviewed him, he was totally uncooperative with us, which was unusual in that here's someone who's a friend of the family who just doesn't want to help," Lott said.

Officers say Grant was arrested on a gun charge Sunday. Since he's been in custody, officers gathered evidence connecting him to the case, and charged him with kidnapping Tuesday.

Lott says investigators have found blood on duct tape that matches Gabbiee's at Grant's home, and they've recovered other DNA evidence linking the suspect to the disappearance. In addition, GPS tracking from her cell phone also led investigators to the location.

"The cell phone was able to be track, where we can show when it left the house, the route they took, and where he ended up at," Lott said.

Officers now say they're focusing their search efforts for Gabbiee at a junk yard near Grant's home, with more than 100 officers at that location.

"We're looking to find Gabbiee to bring her home," Lott said. "Our hope and prayers is that she's going to be recovered, she's going to be fine."

Lott say Grant had been at the home hours earlier cutting grass. He says they believe he took the girl shortly after her mother went to work overnight.

Lott stressed that the mother did everything she could to protect her child, but that the family encountered the wrong person, and Grant took advantage of the circumstances.

"A monster came in that morning," Lott said.

As for the mother, Lott says she's obviously devastated by what's taken place, but she is staying strong.

"She loved Gabbiee, she spent time with Gabbiee, she surrounded her whole life around Gabbiee," Lott said. "It was one of the reasons she was out at work. This was not abnormal for her to go out to work and do what she did. At that time of the morning, that allowed her to spend more time with Gabbiee."

Lott describes the man as a career criminal with multiple arrests on his record. "He's just overall a bad guy," Lott said.

The sheriff said he also may be connected to another missing person's case: 29-year-old Adrianna Laster of Elgin. She hasn't been seen since September of last year, and Lott says she was last known to have been with Grant.

Grant is not charged in any way with Laster's disappearance.

Anyone with information should call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/199418/2/Man-Arrested-for-Kidnapping-Gabbiee-Swainson

Suspected Kidnapper Freddie Grant is Seen on Tape Searching For Gabbiee



http://bcove.me/euzgd0d2

Gabrielle Swainson Case
Suspect in teen’s kidnapping eyed in third investigation
Richland sheriff seeking to contact anyone who employed Grant; another news conference today

By NOELLE PHILLIPS - nophillips@thestate.com

A 52-year-old man charged with kidnapping in the case of missing Richland County teen Gabrielle Swainson has been named as a person of interest in a third law enforcement investigation.

Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews said Freddie Grant is a person of interest in an unsolved homicide from October 2011. The victim in that case is Daniel Lee Wood, a 36-year-old man who was shot and killed in the front yard of a home in Lugoff. Crack cocaine was found at the scene, according to Kershaw County sheriff’s report.

“We have an unsolved homicide from the past year, and as a result of law enforcement looking for Gabrielle Swainson, we think Freddie Grant has now become a person of interest in our case,” Matthews said. He would not say how the two men might have known each other.

Anyone who employed Freddie Grant, 52, as a landscaper or handyman should call the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s Criminal Investigations Unit at (803) 576-3187.

Elgin Police Chief Harold Brown on Tuesday named Grant a person of interest in the disappearance of Adrianna Diana Laster, who was last seen around Labor Day 2011 when she was 28. Laster had lived for some time with Grant and he is believed to be the last person to have seen her, Brown said.

Meanwhile, the FBI and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department continue to comb through evidence as they search for Gabrielle, a 15-year-old Ridge View High School student whose mother was involved with Grant. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott is holding a press conference this morning to give an update on the search.

On Wednesday, Lott asked anyone who may have employed Grant as a landscaper or handyman to call his office. Those who hired Grant may have information on his behaviors, tendencies, habits and places he frequented, Lott said.

Grant is being held in the Lexington County Detention Center on a federal charge for illegal possession of ammunition. He has been charged with kidnapping by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and is not cooperating, Lott said.

Federal agents on Sunday arrested Grant after investigators found a box of 12-gauge shotgun shells next to his bed and .38-caliber hollow point bullets elsewhere in his Elgin house, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Columbia. The ammo was discovered during an Aug. 21 search of his home, three days after Gabrielle was reported missing.

Grant is not allowed to possess weapons or ammunition because he was convicted in 1992 for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which earned him an eight-year prison sentence, although he did not serve the full term.

Lott has described Grant as a “career criminal,” and Grant’s rap sheet in Florida and South Carolina is extensive. Grant’s military service records also show that he was imprisoned from June 1980 to April 1981 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on charges of aggravated assault, kidnapping and resisting apprehension.

Grant enlisted in the Army in 1971 and went through basic training at Fort Jackson to become a mechanic. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea but twice was reported absent without leave before his stint in Leavenworth.

Grant also has been convicted of criminal domestic violence after Elgin police arrested him in April 2011 for assaulting Laster, said Brown, the Elgin chief. In that incident, Grant slammed Laster’s head against the side of his brick house, caused a four-inch gash on her leg by dragging her on the ground and poured fuel on her, according to an Elgin police report.

Laster first was reported missing in September 2011, but an Elgin police officer found her staying with a woman who lived down the street from Grant. That was the last time anyone can confirm they saw Laster alive, Brown said.

But Laster was not reported missing again until March 2012, when the woman who has custody of her child called Elgin police asking them to check on her well being. She could not be found.

After Laster disappeared, multiple neighbors told police about incidents of abuse they had witnessed. Investigators sought to question Grant about Laster’s disappearance, according to a police report. Elgin neighbors said they had not seen him recently, and officers had been unable to locate him at a family member’s home in Columbia, the report said.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/08/29/2418600/suspect-in-teens-kidnapping-eyed.html

Gabrielle Swainson: Still Missing

08/31/2012
n the case of another missing African-American girl whom you may not have heard much about, News One
reports that a family acquaintance who did yard work for the family of
15-year-old South Carolina cheerleader Gabrielle Swainson -- and who
reportedly participated in the searches
for her as a way to direct suspicion elsewhere -- has been arrested and
charged with kidnapping. The suspect is described as being "completely
uncooperative" in helping to locate the teen.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott called 52-year-old
Freddie Grant a "career criminal" in announcing the arrest, according to
WACH Fox News in Columbia, S.C. ...

Swainson's mother, Elvia Swainson, said she went to work at 3:30 a.m.
on Aug. 18 and left her sleeping daughter at their home. When she
returned at 7:30 a.m., the teen was missing and the alarm was going off.
There were no signs of forced entry and all of Gabrielle's belongings,
including shoes, clothes, wallet, and cell phone were still at her home.

Authorities are still hoping that Swainson will be found alive. More
than 100 0fficers have fanned out to search a junkyard near the
suspect’s home.

NewsOne is partnering with the Black and Missing Foundation and TV
One to focus on the crisis of missing African Americans. Black and
Missing Foundation, Inc., whose tagline is "Providing an equal
opportunity for all missing," is a nonprofit organization whose mission
is to bring awareness to missing persons of color, provide vital
resources and tools to missing persons' families and friends and to
educate the minority community on personal safety.

Gabrielle was last seen sleeping in her bed on Aug. 18, 2012. Review the essential details of her disappearance from Ebony:
http://www.theroot.com/buzz/gabrielle-swainson-still-missing

Gabrielle Swainson's Kidnapper Pretended to Search for Her

The man who kidnapped Gabrielle Swainson participated in the searches
for her as a way to direct suspicion away from him. This horrific update
in an already tragic story indicates that Freddie Grant displays the
behavior of a predator who knows how to get away with horrendous crimes.
The man who had once dated the missing teen's mother acted brazenly by
inserting himself right in the thick of the massive search for her --
after he committed an unthinkable crime involving that very young lady.
Freddie
Grant is being described as a "monster" by the sheriff of Richland
County, and this is probably true. He's not only considered a person of
interest in an unsolved homicide from the past year, but he may also be
connected to the missing person case of his own ex-girlfriend. Knowing
that he had no problem putting himself right out there to "search" for
Gabbiee Swainson shows that he has a cocky side,
confidant that he wasn't going to be caught for the crimes he's
presumably committed. Fortunately, that confidence is dashed, but he is
not cooperating with police.
It takes a certain type of mentality
for someone to abduct a teenage girl out of her own room, commit crimes
on her person, and then pretend to search for her in public while the
case grows into a high-profile case. Either Freddie Grant is incredibly
ballsy, incredibly stupid or a combination of both -- either way, he's
in custody now and she's still nowhere to be found.
There are no
investigative updates in the search for Gabrielle Swainson, but
hopefully that changes very soon. All-too-often do cases like these end
negatively with the missing person not being found for years --
sometimes never. With the only suspect refusing to cooperate, finding
her will be harder. Even though police are holding onto the hope that
she can be alive, maybe it's time to change the direction of the search
as though they are looking for her remains. The use of cadaver dogs
distributed over the area may prove useful.
http://news.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474981598422

New Details About Man Charged with Kidnapping Missing Teen

12:14 AM, Sep 1, 2012
Written by Jennifer Bellamy

Elgin, SC (WLTX) -- Freddie Grant's run-ins with the law in Elgin date back to 2005, ranging from driving issues and failing to pay child support, to criminal domestic violence and assault and battery.

Grant, 52, is charged with kidnapping missing Columbia teen Gabbiee Swainson.

His assault charge came in July 2006. According to an Elgin police report, Grant picked up a PVC pipe and hit a 32-year-old woman. She ran to a neighbor to call for help but later refused to press charges and the case was dropped.

Later in 2011 come incidents involving 28-year-old Adriana Laster, the missing woman last seen with Grant.

A March report from that year says officers found Laster crying as she lay on the ground. It said Grant "grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face into the side of his mother's house and drug her to the car."

The report says they fought on the way home from with Grant "pouring some sort of fuel on her" in the car.

It went on the say Grant slammed Laster's head into a brick wall. Police found and photographed various cuts, bruises and other injuries on her body.

According to the report Laster refused medical treatment at first, but later told police she was three months pregnant and consented.

Police were unable to find Grant that night and another criminal domestic violence report was filed the following day with Laster telling police Grant assaulted her again for reporting him to law enforcement. Police found her that day bleeding from the head.

Grant later turned himself in and could have faced a tougher charge, but the Elgin Police Department says Laster had to be subpoenaed to testify against him.

The Elgin Police department also had an informational report of a domestic disturbance.

In it they were notified of a possible kidnapping with Grant knocking Laster unconscious and taking her from Elgin to Lexington County.

Laster told police Grant assaulted her and fled when witnesses stopped to help.

Laster was later reported missing by her family in September 2011.

http://www.wltx.com/news/story.aspx?storyid=199904

Gag Order Requested in Gabbiee Case

6:35 PM, Sep 6, 2012
Written by Jennifer Bellamy

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The man Richland County deputies say kidnapped 15-year-old Gabbiee Swainson has not yet been charged in her disappearance.

A press release sent by deputies back on August 28th stated 52-year-old Freddie Grant had been charged with one count of kidnapping. Grant is being detained at the Lexington County Jail on Federal ammunition charges, where he has been for the past two weeks.

All inmates facing federal charges are housed in the Lexington County jail.

News19's Darci Strickland asked Sheriff Leon Lott Thursday why there are conflicting reports about the charges.

"We have a warrant for his arrest for kidnapping," Lott explained. "He is in the Lexington jail on a federal charge. We have placed a detainer on him which means whenever he is released from there he will come to Richland County and be served with our warrant and will be formally charged. He's not going anywhere. We have a warrant on him for kidnapping."

Over the last 10 days we have been reporting he is charged with kidnapping when in fact, there are only warrants out for his arrest but those have not been filed yet.

Meanwhile, Grant's attorney, Fielding Pringle, says the sheriff is poisoning the jury pool and possibly jeopardizing Grant's ability to have a fair trial, and is requesting a gag order.

The original gag order motion was filed on August 30, with documents supporting the request for that order added days later. A judge will hear arguments Friday morning.

Pringle, who is Richland County's Chief Public Defender, wants the order placed on Lott and Solicitor Dan Johnson.

But this action could give a bad impression.

"I've always had the belief that by asking for the gag order, you intensify the scrutiny the case is receiving," said attorney Jay Bender.

He says gag orders aren't usually requested this early in a case.

"When you have a missing person, and that person is thought to be the victim of foul play, there's a great deal of interest, and that's what has spiked the interest in this case, and that's why the sheriff has gone to the lengths he's gone to to talk about this case and this missing teenager," he said.

Bender says judges have to look at all sides, addressing concerns about the jury pool and freedom of speech of public officials.

"The Supreme Court of the United States and the Supreme Court of South Carolina have both said there are plenty of other tools to a judge to ensure a fair trial and stopping speech on a case of public interest is not the way to do it," said Bender.

He says judges can have a long and intensive jury selection process, they can move or delay a case, and here in South Carolina, Bender says some have even kept a case in its original jurisdiction by bringing in jurors from outside the area.

"If it comes to trial, the question will be of potential jurors, can you decide this case on the basis of what you hear in court, rather than what you might have heard before, and I suspect in Richland County, if the case comes to trial in Richland County, there will be 12 jurors and a number of alternates that would be able to honestly answer that question," said Bender.

The gag order hearing is set for 9 a.m.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/200712/2/Gag-Order-Requested-in-Gabbiee-Case

Judge Denies Gag Order Request in Gabbiee Swainson Case

11:49 AM, Sep 12, 2012

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - A circuit court judge has denied a request for a gag order in the ongoing case of a missing teenage girl from Columbia.

Fifth Circuit Judge DeAndrea Benjamin issued her ruling on a motion made by the attorney for 52-year-old Freddie Grant. Grant's lawyer, Fielding Pringle, had called for a gag order against Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott for comments he has made on the disappearance of 15-year-old Gabbiee Swainson.

But in her ruling, Judge Benjamin said Grant's side did not show there was a likelihood of prejudice in a potential trial, and characterized this method to reduce the chance of bias as "overbroad" and "extreme." She also said it would violate the First Amendment.

LINK: Read the Full Decision

Grant is currently booked on a federal ammunitions charge and is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center. While Grant is not formally charged in Swainson's disappearance, Lott says he has a warrant for Grant's arrest on one count of kidnapping, and has placed a detainer on him over at the Lexington jail.

Lott has held several news conferences updating the case, and implicating Grant in the crime. At times he's referred to Grant as a "monster" and the person who can tell them where the girl is.

Grant's attorney, Fielding Pringle, said Lott's comments demonized her client, and would hurt his chances for a fair trial. Lott's attorney, however, said the gag request was too broad and violated free speech rules, saying the sheriff has a right to update the public on a missing person's case.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/201491/2/Judge-Denies-Gag-Order-Request-in-Gabbiee-Swainson-Case

Gabrielle Swainson: How to help

09/21/2012


Investigators continue to work daily on the case of the missing
15-year-old Ridge View High School student, last seen Aug. 18. SAs of
Thursday night, nearly 400 tips have come in to the investigators,
Richland County Sheriff Deputy Curtis Wilson said.
Gabrielle
“Gabbiee” Swainson was reported missing after her mother returned from
work at 7:30 a.m. and found an empty house. Only the girl and her
cellphone were missing.
Anyone with information on her whereabouts
or on the work and lifestyle habits of Freddie Grant of Elgin, who is
charged with her kidnapping, is asked to the call the Richland County
Sheriff’s Department at (803) 576-3187. Grant did landscaping and
handyman work in the area and knew the family, Richland County Sheriff
Leon Lott has said.

The department also is seeking information from anyone who may have seen
Grant’s light blue 1992 Ford Escort early on the morning of Aug. 18.
http://www.thestate.com/2012/09/21/2450304/gabrielle-swainson-how-to-help.html#.UFxn6q7hcfY



Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/09/21/2450304/gabrielle-swainson-how-to-help.html#storylink=cpy


Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/09/21/2450304/gabrielle-swainson-how-to-help.html#storylink=cpy

Vigil Held For Missing South Carolina Cheerleader Gabrielle Swainson

11/05/2012

For more than one hundred people in Columbia, S.C., Sunday evening
was a moment to close ranks and pray, as the community came together for
a vigil for missing teenager Gabrielle Swainson.


"I'm still believing Gabbiee is going to come home. She's coming home
soon. She's going to walk into our lives again and we will be able to
mend and go back to our normal lives," the missing 15-year-old's mother,
Elvia Swainson, told the crowd gathered at the "Hope for Gabbiee event."


The event, which was rained out early, was held at the Village at
Sandhill. Many of those in attendance offered words of support for the
family and friends of the missing teen.


"Even though we don't know where she is, we know the person responsible," Chris Kell, the missing teen's guitar teacher, told WLTX.
"We believe that if God is for us, then who can be against us? There's
nothing that can stand between us and Gabbiee. It's all on his timing."
The high school cheerleader was last seen
in her Columbia home at about 3:30 a.m. on Aug. 18, when her mother
left for work. The girl's mother told police her daughter was asleep in
her bedroom before she left. When the teen's mother returned at about
7:15 that morning, the teen was gone.


Though Gabrielle Swainson has not yet been found, 52-year-old Freddie
Grant is charged with kidnapping in Swainson's disappearance.
Authorities say the girl's blood was found on duct tape near the
ex-convict's home.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said authorities suspect Grant
entered the Swainson home on Aug. 18, forcibly took the teen and drove
her to his home.


Grant, a landscaper, was initially investigated because he is a
convicted felon, police said. The 52-year-old has prior convictions for
possession with intent to distribute cocaine and aggravated assault and
kidnapping. According to Lott, Grant had participated in searches for
Swainson.
Cell phone records showed that Grant's mobile device was near
Swainson's home around the time she disappeared. Authorities obtained a
search warrant for Grant's home and allegedly discovered 12-gauge
shotgun shells and .38-caliber bullets –- items his prior convictions
made him ineligible to possess. Additional searches were conducted
around the home, where investigators found a bloody piece of duct tape.
Analysis of the tape revealed both Grant and Swainson's DNA, police
said.


Grant is also a suspect in at least two other unsolved cases in South
Carolina. According to Elgin Police Chief Harold Brown, Grant is a
person of interest in the disappearance of Adrianna Diana Laster, a
28-year-old woman who disappeared in September 2011. The Kershaw County
Sheriff's Office has also named Grant a person of interest in the murder
of Daniel Lee Wood, 36, who was shot and killed in October 2011.


Grant is being held without bond at the Lexington County Detention
Center. According to the Richland County Sheriff's Department, Grant has
been "completely uncooperative" with the investigation. His attorney,
Fielding Pringle, has declined to discuss the case. Earlier this week,
the attorney sent a letter to authorities asking them not to contact her
client.


"He's still locked up. He's still not being cooperative," Swainson's
aunt, Zoraida Turnipseed, told The Huffington Post on Monday.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/05/gabrielle-swainson-missing_n_2078317.html

Attorney: Evidence Shows Gabbiee Swainson May Have Run Away

4:52 PM, Dec 18, 2012
MEG KINNARD, Associated Press

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - An attorney for a man charged in the disappearance of a Columbia teenager says evidence shows the girl ran away and wasn't kidnapped.

John Delgado says in court documents filed this week that deputies found evidence showing that Gabbiee Swainson had talked about sexuality with her mother.

Delgado says authorities ignored this evidence when asking a judge for a warrant to search Freddie Grant's home. Delgado wants the warrant voided.

Grant is accused of kidnapping Gabbiee, who was 15 years old when she went missing Aug. 18. Authorities say DNA shows the two were together at Grant's home.

Grant is a convicted felon and also faces a federal ammunition charge for bullets and shotgun shells found at his home. He's currently in jail and is expected in federal court on that charge later this week.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/213157/2/Attorney-Evidence-Shows-Swainson-May-Have-Run-Away

well of course, don't all runaways leave bloody dna on duct tape that also has a felon's dna on it?

Jury Picked for Trial of Freddie Grant

1:47 PM, Jan 10, 2013

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - A federal jury has been selected in the ammunition trial of a man also suspected of kidnapping a Columbia teenager.

Prosecutors and the defense Thursday settled on the men and women who will decide the fate of 52-year-old Freddie Grant.

Grant has been in federal prison since last August. Officers say during a search of his home, officers found a weapon, which they say is a violation because he's a convicted felon.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has said repeatedly that Grant is the lead suspect in the disappearance of Gabbiee Swainson. The girl was last seen on August 18th of last year at her home.

Lott has said his investigators have found DNA evidence at Grant's home linking him to the disappearance. Grant had been in a relationship with Swainson's mother in the past.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/216156/2/Jury-Picked-for-Suspect-in-Columbia-Teens-Disappearance

Freddie Grant's daughter testifies that ammo was hers

by WACH Fox News Center
Posted: 01.14.2013 at 3:54 PM



COLUMBIA (WACH) — Freddie Grant's daughter admitted to bringing ammunition and marijuana into Grant's Elgin home during Grant's trial on federal ammunition charges Monday morning.

The trial for Grant, the man believed to be connected to the August 18 disappearance of 15-year-old Gabbiee Swainson, began at 10 a.m. Monday.

The charge against Freddie Grant is not directly related to Gabbiee’s disappearance, but it came to light as part of the investigation after a search warrant on Grant’s Kelly Street house in Elgin was executed in an effort to locate any information about Gabbiee’s location. The federal charges were filed after the discovery of ammunition in his home.

Because of Grant’s criminal history, it is unlawful for him to posses any ammunition or weapons.

Grant's 27-year-old daughter testified Monday that the items found in Grant's home were her own. She said she did not initially come forward because she was afraid of getting in trouble. She says she got a gun and ammunition from a friend while living in New Orleans because she was being harassed. She gave the gun back to the friend when she moved to North Carolina, but kept the ammunition. She also claimed the marijuana was hers.

The jury will reconvene Tuesday.

http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=847667#.UPVsineY8i5

Gabbiee Swainson's Father: "I Don't Think She's Alive"

8:13 PM, Jan 15, 2013
Clark Fouraker

Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The man accused of kidnapping teenager Gabbiee Swainson was found guilty on separate federal ammunition charges Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the girl's father is expressing deep concerns about her ultimate fate.

"I don't think she's alive," said Alvin Thompson, Swainson's father. "I don't think she's alive. It's been way too much time. Only one person knows that for sure: him."

Thompson believes Freddie Grant, the man found guilty of having ammunition while being a convicted felon, also kidnapped his daughter Gabbiee.

"That still doesn't bring my daughter back to me," said Thompson. "I feel for his family, but at the same time I feel for my daughter because I don't know where she's at."

Richland County Sheriff's investigators found shotgun shells and .38-caliber bullets when they raided Grant's Elgin home in August.

Grant can not possess ammunition because he's a convicted felon.

"When we see career criminals like Mr. Grant and they're in possession of ammunition, they're probably coming to federal court no matter what the circumstances are," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Haynes.

Haynes notes while the ammunition were not on Grant's person, he can still be 'in possession' under the law.

"Constructive possession: it's all the items you have back in your house, it's the items you don't have on your body," said Hayes. "You still possess them, you're just not in actual possession. Just because we don't have them on us every day, doesn't mean we don't have dominion over them."

"I think the jury deliberated a very long time about this," said defense attorney John Delgado. "There were obviously questions in some jurors minds about if Freddie had known and intended to possess that ammunition."

Delgado says Grant will stay in the Lexington County Detention Center until he's sentenced in April.

"That was my brother," said Freddie Grant's brother Johnny Grant. "He's the only brother that I could do anything with. So, now I don't have anybody."

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/216786/2/Swainsons-Father-I-Dont-Think-Shes-Alive

Freddie Grant to Be Charged with Gabbiee Swainson's Disappearance

9:46 PM, Feb 7, 2013
Tony Santaella

Richland County, SC (WLTX) - Richland County deputies are expected Friday to formally charge a man in connection with the disappearance of a Columbia teen.

Sheriff Leon Lott says his agency has a writ for 53-year-old Freddie Grant. The document allows officers to transport him to the Richland County Detention Center, where he will go before a magistrate for a bond hearing.

Lott has said repeatedly he suspects Grant took Gabrielle Swainson from her Columbia home last August. The sheriff says his officers found physical evidence, including DNA, linking Grant to the crime.

Early in the investigation, officers found ammunition in Grant's Elgin home, which was a violation because he is a convicted felon.

He was arrested and ultimately convicted on a federal ammunition charge. While he awaited his trial and since his conviction, Grant's been housed at the Lexington County Detention Center.

Grant's bond hearing is set for 2:30 p.m. Friday. Once it's complete, he'll be taken back to Lexington County.

http://www.wltx.com/news/article/220620/2/Grant-to-Be-Charged-with-Swainsons-Disappearance

  Sheriff confirms body found is Gabbiee Swainson
Posted: Aug 08, 2013 6:39 PM EST Updated: Aug 18, 2013 7:08 PM EST

  "The search for Gabbiee is over."

Just over 24 hours after the search for her body began in a wooded area in Elgin, Sheriff Leon Lott confirmed the body they located late Thursday night is missing teen Gabbiee Swainson.

The man suspected of killing her lead investigators to her gravesite.

"He's taken us there," said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott of Freddie Grant's revelation Thursday. "He's told us. He's showed us."

Lott said investigators flew to the federal penitentiary in Kentucky where Grant was being held Thursday morning to bring him back to the Midlands. Grant took investigators to Elgin to show them where he had buried Gabbiee. The body has been recovered.

"This wasn't a 'whodunit,'" said Lott. "Almost immediately we were able to determine Freddie Grant was the man responsible for kidnapping Gabbiee. The challenge was we couldn't find Gabbiee."

Lott made the announcement at a news conference Thursday evening.

"This has been 357 days of terror that Gabbiee's mother and family had endured. That this community had endured," said Lott. "It's not the way we'd have liked this to have ended.  We'd have liked to have found Gabbiee and brought her home to her momma."

Grant took Deputies to an area near the fire department in Elgin where deputies searched for Gabbiee's remains. The area was searched when Gabbiee disappeared last August and the FBI set up a command post there.

The body was taken to the Richland County Coroner's Office.

"It kills us because we failed to find her," said Lott. "Even though we could not have saved her life, when she was buried. It hurts all of us to know that many, many people walked that area.

"Many, many people looked in the exact same place where we found her." said Lott. "But the way she was concealed, you wouldn't know. The type of hole that he dug, the things he put on top of it. The cadaver dog would not have been able to find it at the depth that it was. We just couldn't find it. There's just no way of finding it without someone taking us to that area and showing us."

"We've provided them with a backhoe," said Kershaw County Sheriff James Matthews, who was at the search scene Thursday night. "They have found a body."

Matthews said although Swainson's body was found in Kershaw County, the case remains with the Richland County Sheriff's Department. Matthews was called to assist the investigation Thursday afternoon.

"I promised Elvia a long time ago we were going to bring Gabbiee home," said Lott.

Lott's remarks put an end to an almost year-long search for the teen.

Gabbiee vanished without a trace from her Northeast Columbia home on August 18, 2012 during a 3-4 hour period when her mother was at work. Elvia Swainson returned home that morning to find Gabbiee's beeping alarm clock, but no sign of her daughter.

Grant was the lone suspect in this case from the beginning. He was initially arrested on federal ammunition charges eight days after Gabbiee went missing. Investigators found a box of shotgun shells and a box of .38 caliber bullets in his home while they were searching for clues in the girl's disappearance. He was disqualified to possess ammunition due to a prior conviction.

Two days after the arrest, deputies also charged Grant with kidnapping. Lott said Grant will be charged with murder. Solicitor Dan Johnson said he will not pursue the death penalty in this case.

"We've been in negotiations for quite some time with Freddy's attorneys," said Lott, referring to Johnson. "We have stood strong on what our offer was. We made an offer to them and haven't changed from day one. We had to do a lot of soul searching. It was almost that you're making a deal with the devil and it was tough."

"We both decided it was best for the community. It was best for Elvia, it was best for everybody," said Lott. "We were able to negotiate what we came up with, which allowed Freddie to take us out there today and show us where he buried her."

The Sheriff would not elaborate on a motive.

"A point where this case took a very important turn was where Freddie's daughter, Dominque, was arrested," said Lott. "That was, I guess, the breaking point as far as to getting Freddie to lead us to where Gabbiee was at. So I don't want anybody to think he did this out of his conscience or he felt bad for Gabbiee or Elvia or this community. He didn't do that.  He did it solely because his daughter was arrested and she was facing some very serious jail time. That's what we needed."

Investigators believe Grant forced Gabbiee to leave her Tamara Way house and took her to his home in Elgin that morning. Grant had a key to the home and was said to have been Elvia Swainson's boyfriend at one time.

The case gained national attention after Lott appeared on Nancy Grace twice and held local news conferences where he referred to Grant as a "monster."

In April, Grant was sentenced to 212 months in prison on the ammunition charges, but never faced trial for kidnapping. "We could go to court today," said Lott after the sentencing. "We're ready. We're prepared. The forensics are in, our leads have been followed up, we've done all the work, so we're ready to go, but we don't have to go right now, and that's the key."

In July, Freddie Grant's daughter, Dominique, was charged with accessory after the fact. Sheriff's investigators said Dominique, 27, tried to help Freddie dispose of Gabbiee's cell phone by leaving it behind a Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Myrtle Beach.

Gabbiee was an honors student at Ridge View High School. She was just days away from beginning her sophomore year when she disappeared.

In the early days of the investigation, family members organized searches for Gabbiee. During one or more of those early searches, Lott said Grant actually joined in on the effort to help find her. Lott said Swainson called Grant for help and he showed up shortly after that call.

Elvia Swainson, Gabbiee's mother, did not attend the news conference Thursday.

"This case has touched a lot of people," said Lott. "I've never seen a case quite like this that's just grabbed the community."

"This was a sad case. The community came together. I think now the community's got a little bit of closure because she has been found."

http://www.wbtv.com/story/23088103/sheriff-says-they-immediately-suspected-grant-in-gabbiees-kidnapping