A 49-year-old North Charleston man is facing serious charges after police said he assaulted a security guard, threatened to shoot him, and then threatened to murder a police officer and the officer’s family while being driven to jail. James DeAngelo White was arrested Tuesday night following a chaotic scene at a motel on Ashley Phosphate Road, according to investigators.
Police responded at 10:30 p.m. to the North Charleston Lodge after a caller reported an assault in progress, as reported by Live 5 News. The caller said a security guard was in a bad spot after being assaulted and threatened with choking, the station reported.
Police Say He Was Not a Guest at the Motel
According to police, White was not a guest at the motel and had been told to leave the property. Officers said he responded by threatening to shoot the security guard before the confrontation escalated. The guard then attempted to detain White, and the two struggled until officers and witnesses arrived to help break it up, per the same account.
The trouble reportedly did not end once White was in custody. Police said that while he was being transported, White spat on the officer through the patrol vehicle’s cage and used a derogatory term toward him. Officers said he went further still, allegedly threatening to murder the officer and the officer’s family.
Charges and Booking
White was ultimately charged with first-degree assault and battery and with threatening the life of a public official, the station’s report notes. He was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center following the arrest.
The South Carolina Legislature’s statehouse records show that lawmakers have previously taken up legislation addressing threats against public employees and their families, as well as revisions to assault-and-battery statute language, according to South Carolina Legislature Online. A separate measure cited by the South Carolina Legislature Online amended assault-and-battery provisions to broaden the law’s language from “an adult” to “a person.” Neither bill record establishes how current statutory penalties apply specifically to White’s case.
