Weasels

Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: 

A jury decided that two of four cops are liable for framing a mentally challenged 15-year-old in a 1983 rape and murder case. 

The man spent 26 years in maximum security prisons before DNA evidence set him free in 2009. 

He has been awarded $7 million in damages. 

Greenville, South Carolina: A cop was arrested after being accused of disposing evidence in a 29-year-old homicide case. “As a result, continuing the case and pursuing defendants [will be] extremely difficult,” said a court solicitor. ow.ly/jsZaT

Simpsonville, Mauldin Cop Arrested

George Ralph Bobo is being charged by SLED with obstructing justice in murder case. Missing evidence could now make it impossible to solve the 28-year-old crime.

Update: — At a press conference Tuesday afternoon, 13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins said physical evidence allegedly disposed of by former Simpsonville Cop George Ralph Bobo means it will likely be impossible to close the case of the 1984 murder of Cassandra Johnson.

Wilkins said the slain woman's family was told of the evidence destruction and impending charges against Bobo before the information was publicly released. He expressed sympathy for the family, who has been waiting for more than two decades for justice and closure.

Wilkins said that despite the case being 28 years old, investigators continued to work on the case with real hopes of solving it.

"Their ability to get justice has now been severely compromised. My heart goes out to the family of Cassandra Johnson," he said. "This is absolutely tragic for her family."

Wilkins added: "Our ability to continue our investigation and prosecute a potential witness has been seriously compromised in that now we no longer have a piece of material evidence — we no longer have that we can no longer test — and it ultimately taints a significant part of the case making it very difficult to pursue a potential suspect in the case."

Wilkins did not say what key piece of evidence Bobo is alleged to have destroyed, nor what his motive was, though investigators believe they know, he said.

Wilkins also said they believe Bobo, who was in charge of evidence in the Johnson case, worked alone in allegedly disposing of the evidence. Wilkins said it did not appear that evidence from any other cases had been compromised by Bobo, who remained in the county detention center Tuesday afternoon on $60,000 bond.

Wilkins also alleged that the evidence disposal was not accidental. "We're alleging he knowingly disposed of the evidence," Wilkins said.

Robbie Davis, the mother of murder victim, said Bobo assured her he would find the killer, according to WYFF.

"How could you sit and smile at me and promise me you were diligently working to get it solved when you knew in your heart all along that's not what you were doing? You were doing the opposite," said Davis.

Bobo's attorney, Jim Bannister, said his client is innocent.

“I think the important thing to remember at this point is that these are just allegations,” Bannister told The Greenville News. “We’re talking about a fellow who has devoted his entire professional career to law enforcement, to the justice system and working for the people of the county.”

Bobo's arrest left former Simpsonville Police Chief Keith Grounsell shaking his head.

For Grounsell this is personal, since he had been working on the Johnson case while at the solicitor's office, and later as police chief, and believes the case was close to being solved before the city fired him last December.

Grounsell also hinted that his controversial firing, and now Bobo's arrest, are just the tip of the iceberg and that more revelations of long-simmering problems within the city are a step closer to being brought out into the open.

In a statement to Patch, Grounsell said:

"In light of the recent events and the arrest of Simpsonville Police Lt. Ralph Bobo, my thoughts and prayers go out to the Johnson family during these hard times. I personally worked on investigating the 1984 cold case murder of Cassandra Johnson and was on the verge of making an arrest in the case. I started working this investigation while I was at the solicitor's office and continued to do so as the Chief of Police in Simpsonville.

"I have taken a personal interest in seeing to it that the Johnson family got some answers as to why this case has not been solved. With that said, in order not to do or say anything that would jeopardize the ongoing SLED investigation in Simpsonville, I will not comment on any of the specifics of the investigation. I will say that there is more to come and a lot more than meets the eye that has been going on in the city of Simpsonville for decades — just like I said from the beginning of this ordeal.

"Although this is a tragedy and the Johnson family is being revictimized again, hopefully it will open the eyes of many people as to what I have been saying all along."

ORIGINAL STORY: A former Simpsonville cop has been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and misconduct in a murder case, the State Law Enforcement Division said Tuesday.

George Ralph Bobo, 53, of Gray Court, was arrested by SLED agents Tuesday and booked into the Greenville County Detention Center. He has been charged with one count each of obstructing justice and misconduct in office, according to arrest warrants.

SLED alleged that Bobo, a former cop in Simpsonville and Mauldin, disposed of evidence in a homicide case sometime between March 2000 and January 2012.

Simpsonville Police Chief Steve Moore said he was awaiting word from SLED, but said he believed the case in question is the 1984 cold-case murder of 20-year-old Cassandra Jones, a Hillcrest High graduate who was found dead from multiple stab wounds in a wooded area off West Georgia Road on Sept. 22, 1984.

The case remains unsolved.

Bobo, hired by Simpsonville in 1992, was a lieutenant with the Simpsonville Police Department when he was fired in January 2012, Moore said. He then went to work for the Mauldin Police Department and later resigned there.

13th Circuit Solicitor Walt Wilkins told WYFF that because the evidence in the Johnson homicide case has been destroyed, it will most likely never move forward. Wilkins said it is most likely that the South Carolina Attorney General's Office will prosecute the case against Bobo.

If convicted, Bobo faces a possible combined 20 years in prison on the charges, a SLED news release said. Bobo was set to appear in court Tuesday afternoon.