“Sit down! Sit down! We’re going to quit for today. Maybe y’all will be in a better mood tomorrow. We’re going to take it up again tomorrow.”

That’s how Circuit Court Judge Jimmy Williams ended testimony from former Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Randy Clark Wednesday after what Williams called 20 minutes of “bickering” between Clark and prosecutors.

The 42-year-old Clark is charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death in connection with a 2005 incident.

A mother of two, Shemeka Lashawn Murdaugh, 24, died after being thrown more than 100 feet when she was struck by a passing motorist on the U.S. 21 Bypass.

The “bickering” between prosecution and Clark wasn’t the first incident that drew the ire of Williams.

On the second day of testimony, Clark took the stand in his own defense with tension increasing as the trial progressed. First Circuit Assistant Solicitor Brian Jeffries’ repeated line of questioning surrounding Clark’s declining a blood or urine test on the evening in question sparked another mini-debate.

“He’s already testified he did not” take the tests, Williams interjected.

“And he’s beating a dead horse to death!” defense attorney Gerald Davis offered.

“Sit down!” Williams said, ending the debate.

A 19-year veteran with the Sheriff’s Office, Clark was dismissed from his position as sergeant about a week after the March 4, 2005 collision.

An investigation revealed Murdaugh was killed at about 10 p.m. that night as she and another female attempted to walk across Whittaker Parkway after visiting relatives.

Murdaugh’s body was found between 127 to 180 feet from the point of impact, which is still in some dispute.

After some time had passed, Clark showed up at the scene and told Highway Patrol troopers he might have struck something in that vicinity.

For most of Wednesday, Clark was “on the stand” either by his actually taking the stand, or through his oral statement via audio tape taken by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

SCHP Lance Cpl. Joyce Myrick confirmed an audio tape contained Randy Clark’s oral statement given on March 9 and 10, 2005.

On the tape, Clark explains he wanted to give a voluntary statement due to gossipers who “seek the thrill of devastating you. If they seek the truth, that’s fine. The only thing they’ve been seeing into is my demise.”

For nearly two hours, the tape played back the interviews between investigators, including Myrick, and Clark.

The former deputy said he’d played a video game earlier that evening before deciding to go to Wal-Mart to get toothpaste because his mouth was dry.

At the department store, he said, he drove around the parking lot once before deciding against going inside. He then turned his car back toward home and began his return, Clark said.

But about a mile before the junction of the U.S. 21 Bypass and U.S. 301, Clark’s hood disintegrated and Murdaugh lay dying in a cornfield.

“I was thinking it could of been a buzzard or something, you know,” Clark is heard saying on the tape. “When I didn’t see any evidence, uh, a shoe, a pocket book, something like that, I thought my hood flew up.”

A videotape obtained from Danny’s Collision Center located near the scene of the accident captured footage showing a vehicle stop in the roadway and back up about 100 feet while traffic went around. After a short while, the car is then seen to resume in its original direction.

“Anything that you care to tell me? Anything you want to tell me?” Myrick is heard saying on the tape.

“Other than, it was a nightmare,” Clark replied.

Meanwhile, SCHP Sgt. David Lee, sworn in as an expert MAIT team witness on vehicle dynamics, testified that his analysis of the scene concluded that Murdaugh was thrown anywhere between 127 feet and 180 feet, depending on the point of impact.

Lee further testified that the vehicle which struck Murdaugh was traveling between 49 and 59 mph.

The speed limit on Whittaker Parkway at the scene of the accident is 45 mph.

When the state rested its case, Davis asked the court for a directed verdict, saying the prosecution hadn’t even proven anyone died.

“No death, your honor,” Davis said. “No medical personnel whatsoever. They didn’t bring anybody, your honor.”

“I don’t know the preacher” (the Rev. Leroy Bovain, who testified on Tuesday), Williams said. “But I think his testimony was clear. He held her hand when she stopped breathing and closed her eyes. I deny the motion on that basis.”

In a rare move, Clark took the stand in his own defense.

Defendants typically avoid taking the stand per their Constitutional right. Taking the stand, defendants open themselves to direct questioning by prosecuting attorneys.

Jeffries zeroed in on the approximately two hours that elapsed between the incident and Clark’s returning to the scene.

“From the time this incident occurred to the time you spoke to the troopers, did you call any lawyer and seek any legal advice?” Jeffries asked.

“No, sir.”

But from there, Clark moved his testimony into the technical arena, in particular, definitions and terminology.

“Would it be fair to say you were the driver of the vehicle that hit Shemeka?” Jeffries asked.

“Hit?” Clark responded. “I was the driver of the car that made contact with the pedestrian.”

After those comments and about 20 minutes’ worth of similar responses, Williams ended Wednesday’s proceedings.

And, in the absence of the jury, Williams warned the former deputy, “Now, Mr. Clark, when we start up in the morning, you will answer any questions asked of you. We will not have this bickering.

“All right, we will start again in the morning at 9:30.”

T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.