SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — A Sumter mayoral candidate and associate are being charged after they police say they staged a kidnapping and beating and posted it online.
According to Sumter Police, Sabrina Belcher, 29, and Christopher James Eaddy, 34, planned a kidnapping and beating, which they recorded and posted on Facebook Live. This was in order to garner publicity, sympathy and votes in the November election, according to law enforcement.
Belcher is charged with filing a false police report of a felony and conspiracy. Eaddy is charged with conspiracy.
According to the report, officers met with Belcher on Tuesday night when she reported that she had been assaulted and kidnapped by an unknown man during an attempted robbery. She was injured and her vehicle windows were knocked out during the attempted robbery, according to Belcher. She was taken to Prisma Health Tuomey and released.
During the investigation, Belcher provided a fake name for the person who attacked her. Officers later found that she was in contact with Eaddy, whom she had worked with days prior to concoct and stage the reported incident.
According to law enforcement, Belcher, with Eaddy’s help, also attempted to discredit a fellow candidate in the recording. Belcher also had plans to smear other mayoral candidates prior to the election.
“This was simply an effort to create disorder and discontent in our community for personal gain,” Chief Russell Roark said. “As a result, a valuable number of resources, including personnel, manhours of the police department as well as local medical professionals, were wasted based on false information.”
Both were booked Wednesday at the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center.
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