Assault case comes at rocky time for Wagener firefighters
WAGENER, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Controversy continues for the Wagener Fire Department, where the fire chief resigned last week after being accused of fraud and breach of trust for alleged paycheck padding.
In the latest incident, a woman was arrested on two counts of third-degree assault and battery after some issues at a Halloween corn maze staged by the agency.
The incidents happened Thursday night at the fire and police station, 299 Park St. Northeast, according to an incident report from the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office.
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There were two incidents involving Kayla Rene Franklin, according to the report.
The first involved Franklin grabbing a female on the shoulders and pushing her through the walk-through of the corn maze, according to the incident report.
The second incident occurred while a female was hiding in a casket in the scary part of the maze and Franklin kicked the casket and put her foot on it when the person was trying to get out, according to the incident report.
Franklin was later arrested and charged, according to authorities.
New fire chief
Also Thursday, the Wagener Town Council confirmed the appointment of Tillman Rushton as new fire chief.
He previously worked for the Salley Police Department, then the Aiken Department of Public Safety and came to Wagener about a year ago.
The appointment comes after last week’s resignation of David Watson from the position after a police investigation revealed some questions about overtime.
The Wagener Police Department released an incident report Wednesday detailing the problem, classifying the offense as fraud/breach of trust.
The investigation began after it was brought to the attention of police on Oct. 10 that Watson was claiming a large amount of overtime every week, according to the report.
Wagener Police Chief Michael Goodwin took the matter to the attention of Mayor Mike Miller and Mayor Pro Tem George Smith and requested consent to investigate, according to the report.
On Oct. 11, Goodwin met with Town Clerk Angel Jeffcoat and requested Watson’s check stubs dating back to the start of July 2022. The stubs revealed 20 to 26 hours of overtime every week, according to the police report.
Goodwin totaled up the overtime, which was more than 1,700 hours at a cost of over $42,000, according to the report.
Miller met with Watson, who resigned, according to the report.
Goodwin was advised by Miller that the investigation was being turned over to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for further investigation, according to the report.
READ THE POLICE REPORT:
The scandal that led to Watson’s exit is reminiscent of what happened in November 2020 in Wagener – a controversy that also left the town without a fire chief and took the firefighting roster down from 12 to four.
Mark Redd was fired from the town’s volunteer fire department in 2020 after more than 40 years of service and more than 20 as chief. The firing led to a mass resignation of volunteers and a rift among some of the small community.
A retired public safety veteran in Aiken County was brought in to rebuild the agency, and Watson came in sometime after that.
Redd ultimately sued Miller, claiming defamation.
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