Charleston, South Carolina – Just one week after his wife, a guy pled guilty to squatting in a West Ashley residence.
Christopher “Nate” Marcum, his wife Evelyn Pollard, and Daniel Byrd were charged with breaking into a residence on Dogwood Road and destroying the family’s personal items.
According to the affidavits, the trio took the homeowner’s things and burned them in the backyard in an attempt to conceal proof that the owner still resided there. The personal property comprised couches, bedroom furnishings, and living room furniture.
A day after their arrest, burnt remains could be found in the garden, surrounded by what seemed to be tiki torches.
Prior to the January charges, Marcum and Pollard were the subject of months of Live 5 Investigates investigations in which many West Ashley residents said they were squatting in their homes.
Marcum’s plea hearing was held on Wednesday in front of Judge R. Kirk Griffin. Marcum’s sentence is comparable to his wife’s from a week earlier.
The terms of Marcum’s agreement are as follows:
7 years of prison suspended for 5 years of probation.
Counseling for substance misuse and mental health.
$3419.50 payment to the Charleston County Housing and Redevelopment Authority for damage to the Dogwood Rd residence.
If restitution is paid in full within three years, probation will cease at the three-year point.
Pollard’s plea agreement reduced five years in prison to 27 months on probation, the first nine of which are being served in a residential treatment center. She was also referred for substance addiction counseling.
Aside from the squatting allegations, today’s plea agreement resolved Marcum’s 2023 methamphetamine charge.
Martha Runey, Marcum’s public lawyer, stated that he had a West Ashley trailer that he intends to live in following parole.
Byrd, the final defendant in the case, is scheduled to plead on October 31. Assistant Solicitor Jewell Gearding, who prosecuted Pollard, stated during her hearing that Byrd is likely to receive probation.
