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FORT MILL, S.C. — A convicted felon accused of having pipe bombs at his apartment also called in a bomb threat to a high school, a search warrant says.

Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz was able to obtain the search warrant Wednesday for 50-year-old Derek Johnson’s south Charlotte apartment.

Nothing was ever found at Fort Mill High School, but authorities did find pipe bombs at Johnson’s apartment.

Johnson allegedly called in the bomb threat on Oct. 13 just on the other side of school grounds. The school was put on lockdown.

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In the search warrant, investigators said Johnson called 911 that morning and said, “you’re gonna need fire... I put a bomb in there last night and if anybody tries to leave everybody’s gonna die... They’re gonna appreciate our veterans.”

Authorities traced the call and said Johnson made it at the Peach Stand gas station a mile from the school. Once they matched the phone to Johnson, investigators went to his apartment on Farmhurst Drive.

At Johnson’s apartment, the property manager showed officers the red Cadillac sedan that Johnson drove. Police were able to run the car’s plates and got a hit in the area of the Peach Stand. It matched the time that the threat was made to the high school. CCTV footage from the Peach Stand showed Johnson, in the red Cadillac, pull into the parking lot just before the call was made.

As Sáenz first reported on Tuesday, last Thursday, a bomb squad and others descended on Johnson’s south Charlotte apartment off Farmhurst Road.

According to the search warrant, investigators searched his apartment and car and found two filled pipe bombs, a semi-automatic pistol, four firearm magazines, screws and coins, among other things.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is leading this investigation.

Johnson is still in jail. He’s facing several charges in Charlotte and also several felonies in South Carolina.

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A sexual assault suspect is still on the run after attacking a woman in Fort Mill.

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FORT MILL, S.C. — Editor's Note: This story discusses sexual assault, which may include descriptions of violent acts. Reader discretion is advised.

A typical Monday morning run was interrupted by a stranger.

The York County Sheriff's Office said the incident happened around 5:30 Monday morning along North Sutton Road while a woman was out jogging.

"I screamed, I did not know I had those screams in me," the alleged victim said.

The woman said she could hear footsteps behind her getting closer but assumed it was another runner.

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"He grabbed around my body from the back," she said. "Still at this point I don't think I'm being attacked, I think this is a runner friend and someone is really happy to see me."

Her thoughts quickly changed after being tackled and thrown to the ground. That's when she started tussling and yelling in an attempt to get away from her attacker.

"He began touching me inappropriately and I started screaming and kicking," she said.

The victim said she’s not sure what made the suspect go away, but she quickly ran into the road toward headlights, getting the attention of a driver coming down the street.

"I thank whoever that driver [was], thank you -- that night I lost innocence," she said. "Now when I hear footsteps, I'm going to run faster or go to the other side of the street."

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While this incident has encouraged lots of precaution, she said it will never stop her from doing what she loves.

"I will run alone again," she said. "I am not going to be scared because he doesn't get to win."

She said it's a freedom she is hoping other women who run will not let be stolen away.

K-9s were requested to track the suspect and were able to pick up a track but could not find the man, according to deputies. The suspect is described as a white male who is approximately 5-foot-8. He was wearing dark clothing, a gray hat and possibly jeans and a mask, investigators said.

Anyone with information on the suspect's whereabouts is asked to contact the York County Sheriff's Office at 803-628-3059.

Contact Tradesha Woodard at twoodard1@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.

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Fort Mill’s historic armory has long served as home to the town’s operations center, but a new plan will move the public works space to a tract of land outside the downtown corridor.

The state of South Carolina has allocated $25 million to build a new operations center to better meet the needs of the rapidly growing town.

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May 17, 2023 12:41 PM

“This is a $25 million amount of money that will be provided to the town of Fort Mill to assist with the building of a new operations center that will house our public works, our utilities department, and many other offices for town staff,” Fort Mill Mayor Guynn Savage said during a gathering Tuesday at the armory.

Six years ago, S.C. Rep. Raye Felder started making requests in the state budget for the public works space in Fort Mill, but the COVID-19 pandemic placed the project on the back burner.

“This year, with much appreciation to Speaker Murrell Smith and Senator Harvey Peeler, we were able to get a budget allocation to help us get over this hump to get an operations center which will allow us to look at what the future possibilities are for the armory,” Felder said Tuesday.

The location of the armory, at 131 E. Elliott St., is a key reason it was deemed no longer fit to house Fort Mill’s operations center.

“As we pursue the best and most cost effective solution, the town understood the following: the location of this building is not ideal for this type of facility,” Savage said.

“The facility needs expansion, and the current location doesn’t allow for additional acreage to do so.”

Savage said she hopes the new operations center will give Fort Mill’s public departments room to expand with the town’s booming population.

“Our town staff has not grown to marry up with the growth in our community, and we are working to fix that,” Savage said.

What role will the armory play in Fort Mill now that it will no longer house town operations?

The armory was built in 1938 and is in need of repairs.

Felder said she understands that it would cost less to raze the existing armory building and rebuild it, but the historical significance of the building is viewed as highly important.

“A priority of mine is the deep heritage and history that is home to Fort Mill,” Felder said. “We have so much to be proud of, and this building is one of those things.”

The armory’s role in Fort Mill’s future remains to be determined, but there has been talk of a performing arts center or an entirely different development project.

“Once repaired and restored, it is not the highest and best use to continue to house our public works and utilities department. This facility with its historic relevance will serve the community in another way,” Felder said.

This story was originally published June 27, 2023, 1:39 PM.

FORT MILL, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — There are more than 18,000 students in the Fort Mill School District, and it’s a number that grows by at least 600 students every year.

The district says the consistent growth has leaders updating their 10-year plan every year, and they’re getting closer and closer to needing more schools.

“Every year we look at this plan because it helps us determine when and if we’ll need to build schools in Fort Mill. We are often building schools,” said Joseph Burke with the Fort Mill School District. “When you have growth like ours that has been sustained over multi-year, we have to plan for what we’re going to need for students in the future.”

Exponential growth. Two words that school district leaders keep hearing. Burke says they annually update their 10-year facility needs to make sure their infrastructure is keeping up with demands.

“We’re not building projects under bond right now,” Burke explained. “We’ve completed our previous bond projects, but we have just recently started the construction for elementary school number 12. That one is actually being paid for by impact fee money. So that is actually a $67 million savings to our taxpayers that we will not have to include in any possible future bond to build schools coming up.”

Fort Mill is the largest district for enrollment in York County, while also being the county’s smallest geographically of the four. Crews are building the district’s 12th elementary school on Gold Hill Road.

Population growth means they’ll need a new bond measure to pay for more schools, renovations and programs to meet it.

“I have seen a number of schools freezing the registration and all of those things,” said one neighbor off-camera.

He says his concern is that higher taxes could send families elsewhere.

“They are to look at the taxes are not that high, because taxes is also one of the reasons that people want to be in this area,” the neighbor said.

Burke says the district’s reputation is one of the reasons Fort Mill has seen such fast growth.

“The school district is one of the major draws for the area,” Burke said. “We’re one of the top-performing in the state, so we know that we’re kind of a victim of our own success that’s bringing people in. But at the same time, the school district really tries to be very fiscally responsible for our taxpayers.”

Burke says officials can’t say how much construction will cost 10 years from now, but they want to plan for the future. He says people may look at the plan and see that there’s going to be an additional need for high school space. That does not mean there’s going to be an additional high school in that time frame, though.

“That means we have to look at options in the future,” he said. “But again, those are projects that would not be included in this particular time frame.”

The bond is just a possibility, and this is just a starting point. Officials are putting together plans that will eventually go to the school board for a vote — and then a public vote.

They’ll be discussing the topic more over the next couple of months.

Sunbelt Rentals is looking to buy a former Lash Group property and, as part of the deal, inherit a pre-arranged tax incentives deal with York County.

State and local governments use tax incentive deals to attract businesses, bring in jobs, and raise revenue. One such strategy is to allow businesses to pay a lower fee instead of the standard corporate tax rate.

York County Council passed a resolution Monday night, signing off on a transfer that would move 2015 tax agreement conditions to Sunbelt Rentals — if the sale happens. The decision Monday night was part of a consent agenda, or a lumped-together group of decisions council passes without conversation or debate.

In this case, the site is 1799 Innovation Point, and would include almost 11 acres, a three-story office building at almost 175,000 square feet and a parking deck. According to county documents, the property owner, 1799 Innovation Point, would sell the site to Sunbelt by the end of the year.

Sunbelt Rentals has a history of growth in the region. Sunbelt serves commercial, industrial and other rental users as one of the largest equipment rental companies in the country.

In 2016, the company announced it would expand its Deerfield Drive headquarters in Fort Mill with an $8 million investment. Sunbelt since has set up shop in the Kingsley location at 1799 Innovation Point, site of the ongoing deal.

In its 2015 agreement, Lash Group committed to minimums of 2,200 new jobs and $80 million of investment within five years.

Lash Group opened a building in 2016 for 1,600 workers. A second building, in 2018, added space for 1,300 more.

The 2015 fee deal with York County, which has come to include other companies, included 1799 Innovation Point.

The county approved a tax incentive agreement in 2015 with Lash Group and company Kingsley #9. The agreement was modified in 2016 to include Palmetto Funding Company and in 2017 to add company Kingsley #10. A 2018 update added property owner 1799 Innovation Point, affiliated with New York City group Sentinel Real Estate Corporation.

On Monday morning, prior to council’s resolution vote later that day, Councilman Tom Audette said Sunbelt would be able to bring more new business in the area with the move.

“They would be taking over the building, and (Lash Group) met all the qualifications to be able to continue that agreement,” Audette said. “That’s going to allow (Sunbelt) to have the space they need to continue to grow their business, which is a win for the county.”

Late last year, Lash Group asked York County to reduce the hiring requirement cited in the terms of the original tax incentive deal. The county agreed to reduce the new job threshold from 2,200 to 1,000 jobs because Lash had more than doubled its promised investment.

As of June 30, county documents show Lash created at least 1,643 jobs and more than $80 million in investment, based on the modified incentive deal. County council agreed to lower the job count last year, allowing Lash to factor in remote work after COVID-19 created hiring challenges. But council members also pointed out Lash Group’s total investment of $167 million.

“That far exceeds the expectation going in,” Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said at the time.

New jobs and overall investment are the main cogs in state and county level tax incentive decisions. Both signal the level of new wealth a proposed project might add to a community.

Roddey said more investment means more tax revenue.

South Carolina companies that invest at least $2.5 million can negotiate agreements to pay fees rather than pay full tax amounts, according to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. Those fees can reduce the revenue paid to the county by up to 40%.

Larger investments and more jobs can mean lower fees for a company.

Fee agreements often last up to 40 years. When they expire, or if investment and job thresholds aren’t met, businesses must pay traditional corporate tax rates.

This story was originally published August 22, 2023, 1:49 PM.