This Horace Taylor was NOT convicted of anything.

Columbia's special prosecutor brought back -
City Council cut funding for position in July
State, The (Columbia, SC)-January 5, 2009Author: ADAM BEAM, abeam@thestate.com

A .40-caliber pistol in a trash can was enough to bring back Columbia's special prosecutor after the position was eliminated in July because of a funding dispute.
Beginning this month, Heather Savitz Weiss, an assistant solicitor for 5th Circuit Solicitor Barney Giese, will resume her duties as Columbia's special prosecutor for six months -- and city officials won't have to pay for it.
"We talked about it, and I think it is so important that I'll do just about anything to reinstate it -- including doing it without funding," Giese said.
Weiss' title was eliminated in July after Columbia City Council members voted to cut part of her roughly $50,000 salary. Giese responded by cutting the position entirely and putting Weiss back in the general rotation of cases as an assistant solicitor. Giese also picked up her salary out of his budget.
But a series of events during the first week of November started a chain reaction that brought Weiss back to her role. On Nov. 1, police heard gunshots in Columbia's Martin Luther King neighborhood and arrested 18-year-old Horace Antonio Taylor. Police did not find a gun on Taylor, so he was released and, on Nov. 5, pleaded guilty in city court to disorderly conduct charges.
Two days later, the same Columbia police officer saw Taylor in the neighborhood again, this time with a .40-caliber pistol under his T-shirt. The officer saw Taylor put the gun in a trash can, according to an incident report. Taylor, sent to a city judge who did not know his prior record, was let out of jail for $500.
Durham Carter, president of the MLK Neighborhood Association, was livid. He demanded a meeting with Mayor Bob Coble. "The young man was a nuisance to the neighborhood," Carter said.
Coble, trying to appease neighborhood residents, called Weiss.
Weiss had been Columbia's special prosecutor for eight years.
She handled only city cases and was the liaison between the Columbia Police Department and the solicitor's office -- until the council members cut part of her funding.
Now, after Taylor's two arrests and two releases in one week, Coble needed Weiss to help.
"It was my day off, but, you know, the mayor wanted help," Weiss said.
Weiss knew Taylor.
She met him two years ago when Taylor was shot outside Williams-Brice Stadium following the Capital City Classic. "He was originally a victim of mine," she said. "He was nicknamed 'Bloody Horace.'"
Weiss met with Carter and other MLK residents to explain why Taylor was let out of jail and what she could do about it. She set up a meeting with Taylor's mother. Taylor lived with his mother in the MLK neighborhood in her Habitat for Humanity home, which Taylor's mother said was roughly four years away from being paid off. Habitat for Humanity officials reminded her that a condition of her having the house was providing a safe environment.
"It was a different kind of intervention," Weiss said. Taylor's mother, who did not want her name in the newspaper, confirmed that Habitat officials met with her about her son. She said another man in the MLK neighborhood was getting her son in trouble.
Finally, Weiss filed a motion to revoke Taylor's bail. The judge denied the request but ordered Taylor not to return to the MLK neighborhood. He is no longer living there.
"All (residents) have to do is call (if they see Taylor), and he will be in violation of his bond," Weiss said.
Weiss said if she had been working as the city's special city prosecutor, Taylor still might be in jail. The police officers she deals with would have called her, and she would have been at the bail hearing to request a higher bail, based on Taylor's history.
"This just lets me have a wider net of connections," she said.
Coble was so impressed with Weiss' work that he met with Giese about bringing back the special city prosecutor program. Giese agreed.
"I saw the importance of having the same solicitor do two things," Coble said. "One, certainly keep up with cases and be familiar with defendants, particularly with repeat offenders. And secondly, to be an active partner with neighborhoods."
Giese said he will negotiate with City Council members about paying for her position in next year's budget. But either way, Giese said, he is committed to keeping the program. "Without it I feel like we've lost some of the contact we've had with (the city) and with the community groups," he said.
Reach Beam at (803) 771-8405. Section: localPage: b Provided By: The McClatchy Company
Index Terms:
Columbia City Council;
MLK Neighborhood Association;
Columbia Police Department;
City Council Location(s): Columbia
Personal Name(s): Heather Savitz Weiss; Martin Luther King; Horace Antonio Taylor; Bob Coble
Record Number: 200901050001KNRIDDERSCCOLUMS_solicitor05
Copyright (c) 2009 The State
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