CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — An Horry County jury convicted a Conway man Tuesday for a home invasion that occurred in 2021, the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
Willie Lavon Barnes, 50, was found guilty of second-degree burglary during his trial, according to Jim Stanko, an assistant solicitor.
The charge was the result of an incident that occurred early morning on August 8, 2021. Barnes attempted to break into a home in Conway by throwing a flowerpot through a glass door.
Police showed up moments later to find Barnes hiding in a laundry room that was attached to the house. When police removed Barnes from the building, officers discovered a glass crack stem lying next to him, the 15th Solicitor’s Office.
Stanko along with Kaitlin Cook, an assistant solicitor, prosecuted the case for the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. The Honorable Circuit Court Judge Alex Hyman presided over the trial and sentenced Barnes to 10 years in prison.
Barnes will be required to serve six years of his sentence and then will be placed on supervised probation for the remaining four years. Barnes charge is violent and is a strike under South Carolina’s three strikes law, the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
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Taylor Ford is a digital journalist for News13. She joined the News13 team in January 2023. Taylor is a Florence native and covers the Pee Dee out of News13’s Florence Bureau. Read more of Taylor’s work here.
