August 9, 2019

Statement regarding the Dismissal of Criminal Charges

as it relates to Shai Werts in Saluda County

Yafari Shairkir Werts was arrested on July 31, 2019, in Saluda County for
Possession of Cocaine following a traffic stop. The Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office
was made aware of the arrest on Friday, August 2, 2019. The Saluda County Sheriff’s
Office provided Deputy Solicitor Al Eargle with copies of the incident report, police
vehicle dash camera footage, and the body camera footage on Wednesday, August 7,
2019.
Upon a thorough review of the report, the dash camera, and the body camera,
Deputy Solicitor Al Eargle and I made the decision that the charge should be
appropriately dismissed. The charge lacks prosecutorial merit and the evidence is
insufficient for the State to proceed. The charge was officially dismissed Thursday,
August 8, 2019.
The decision to dismiss this charge was made prior to the South Carolina Law
Enforcement Division (SLED) completing their drug analysis of the substance collected.
On August 8, 2019, SLED received the substance and completed the drug analysis. The
forensic scientist determined that no controlled substance was detected.
The Solicitor’s Office has begun the expungement process to have this charge
removed from the system to ensure that this arrest and charge does not create a
criminal history for Werts.

Rick Hubbard