Criminal activity is common along Remount Road and has been a thorn in the side of law enforcement agents for years.

Prostitution, drug sales, loitering and property crimes are common along this stretch of road.

The city of Hanahan is now considering an addition to its code of ordinances regarding loitering that would address the problem.

Hanahan Police Chief Don Wilcox presented a draft of the ordinance at City Council's meeting on Aug. 12. No action was taken on the proposal, allowing the police chief and city officials to revise the language of the ordinance.

This is the first such loitering ordinance for the city and was created specifically to address the portion of Remount Road that sits within Hanahan city limits, Wilcox said.

"We have had increasing complaints from people in the business community," Wilcox said. "They are frustrated that the cities have not been able to fully address the situation."

Several individuals within the business community met in May at Beyond the Church Walls Ministry Church in Hanahan to talk about crime along Remount Road and urge Hanahan and North Charleston police departments to work together on the problem.

The agencies can assist each other during arrests. But additional authority within jurisdictions may have to come through the S.C. General Assembly, Wilcox said.

"It's going to take a cooperative effort between citizens, businesses and both cities to resolve all issues that are a concern with this," Wilcox said. "It's not something we can do on our own. Everybody's going to have to work together."

The city of North Charleston enacted its loitering ordinance more than a year ago. Hanahan is modeling its ordinance after North Charleston's. Hanahan City Council plans to address the loitering proposal at a workshop in September, City Administrator Hal Mason said.

"I'm for anything that will help (law enforcement) do their job," Mason said. "We just want to make sure we're not doing something that's unnecessary or something that impedes other people's rights."

Reach Jasiri Whipper at 745-5863 or jwhipper@postandcourier.com.

Bail was reduced Tuesday for Cassie Watson

Cassie Watson

A magistrate reduced bail Tuesday for a Hanahan police detective who's been in jail for two weeks on allegations that he held an acquaintance against her will and raped her at gunpoint.

North Charleston police arrested Cassie Watson, 40, around midnight Aug. 3 on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. His total bail was set at $325,000.

Charleston County Magistrate James Gosnell Jr. reduced the amount to $50,000, of which Watson would have to post 10 percent. If released, Watson would be on house arrest. He was suspended with pay after his arrest.

Gosnell denied defense attorney Danny Martin's motion to dismiss the charges.

Martin said Watson was improperly arrested without a warrant and there was no evidence to corroborate the woman's allegations. North Charleston police Detective Matthew Lawless didn't dispute Martin during the hearing.

Lawless said there is nothing to substantiate the allegations and that there is no evidence sex wasn't consensual. The woman had no visible signs of injury and there were no signs of a disturbance in her home, he said.

Lawless said a rape kit has been sent to the State Law Enforcement Division lab.

Martin said in an interview after the hearing he's certain the kit will show that the woman and Watson had sex because they'd had intercourse five or six times prior to Aug. 3. It was always consensual, he said. Watson and the woman had known each other about two years, according to affidavits. The Post and Courier does not identify alleged rape victims.

It is not the first time the woman has made allegations of rape, according to police reports:

-- In June 2002, she told Florence police that a neighbor punched her, held her in her apartment overnight and repeatedly raped her. The suspect she named said they had consensual sex, and he passed a SLED polygraph. The woman admitted lying about being held overnight but maintained she was raped. An investigator cleared the case based on the woman's lack of cooperation.

-- In April 2000, the woman told the Charleston County Sheriff's Office that two men abducted her at knife-point, took her to a warehouse, hit her with a bat and raped her. She had no signs of injury and there was no evidence of sexual assault because she waited about 24 hours to contact authorities. She identified two men as her attackers, and they were charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Charges were dismissed in February 2001 because the woman's credibility was "too suspect to proceed," the court clerk's records show.

-- In July 2000, the woman told Charleston County sheriff's deputies that the same two men raped her in her residence. Charleston County forwarded the information to the Dorchester County Sheriff's office because the alleged assault occurred in their jurisdiction.

Dorchester County Maj. Mike Turner said Tuesday the case was closed because of a lack of leads and because, on further investigation, the woman was uncertain as to who assaulted her.

Reach Nita Birmingham at 937-5433 or nbirmingham@postandcourier.com.

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