Personal Injury Attorney in Lawson, SC

In what has been an eventful offseason for Duke, another departure is now official.

Associate head coach Winston Gandy has resigned from his post with the Blue Devils. A team spokesperson confirmed the move Thursday morning but declined to comment further.

On Friday morning, Gandy was announced as the newest addition to Dawn Staley's staff at South Carolina, confirming a Thursday report by the News and Observer’s Steve Wiseman. Gandy replaces Gamecock assistant coach Fred Chmiel, who accepted the head coaching job at Bowling Green earlier this month.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to join Dawn and the South Carolina family, which has been the standard of excellence in women’s basketball for quite some time,” Gandy said in South Carolina's Friday announcement. “Dawn is among the best coaches in the country, a phenomenal leader and an incredible mentor to young women. I look forward to getting to Columbia and becoming part of what makes South Carolina a great place for the best to come and play.”

The news comes one day after senior guard Celeste Taylor entered the transfer portal. Taylor had initially announced March 27 that she would return to Duke for her final year of eligibility.

Gandy was hired as Duke’s assistant coach in July 2020 and was promoted to associate head coach in July 2022. Prior to his time with the Blue Devils, Gandy was an assistant at Rice after spending time in the NBA as an assistant and player development coordinator.

Earlier in the 2022-23 season, head coach Kara Lawson described how Gandy worked closely with the Duke guards. Notably, both members of the starting backcourt, Shayeann Day-Wilson and Taylor, are transferring from the program.

“Winston is exactly the type of person we love having in our program because of the way he develops true connections with young people,” Staley said. “He is a highly sought after young talent in our game, and I’m so happy he is bringing his great basketball mind and his ability to recruit and develop talent to Columbia.”

Associate head coach Tia Jackson and assistant coach Karen Lange are the remaining members on Lawson’s staff.

This article was updated Friday morning to include Gandy's official announcement at South Carolina.

Dr. J. Rutledge Lawson

A native of Sumter, SC, a son of the late John Perrin and Gladys Eadon Lawson; he was of the medical profession and a member of Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church. He held a commission as Lt. Colonel (LTC) in the SC Army National Guard, where he was responsible for the sustainment training of all Medics in the State of South Carolina.

He was a graduate of the Class of 1957 at Wofford College, belonged to the Blue Key Honor Fraternity and was a past President of Alpha Nu Chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He graduated in 1960 from the Medical University of South Carolina, with the following achievements: Internship at MUSC; was awarded a Wyeth Pediatric Residency Fellowship and did his residency in Pediatrics at Talmadge Memorial Hospital, Augusta, GA and at MUSC, Charleston, SC.

He had a long and distinguished career which include; private practice of Pediatrics in Wilson, NC; private practice of Pediatrics; Greenville, SC at the Children's Medical Center, PA, and served as past Chairman of Department of Residents at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

After 22 years of private practice, he accepted the position of Associate Medical Director of the Greenville County Health Department and later, accepted the position of Director of Professional Health Services, Appalachian Region, SC Department of Corrections. He was also involved in teaching the Pediatric Residents of Greenville Memorial Hospital; served on the State Board of the Children's Rehabilitation Services; was active in The SC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Greenville County Medical Society; was a Delegate of the SC Medical Association; and served on the SC Medical Association Sports Medicine Committee. Additionally, he worked for the Department of Juvenile Justice, Greenwood Center; was active in the practice of Pediatrics through the Pediatric Night Clinic in Spartanburg, and worked doing emergency admissions at the Patrick B. Harris Psychiatric Hospital in Anderson.

In 1998 he accepted the medical position as Physician at the Department of Mental Health (Piedmont Mental Health Center) until his retirement in 2007. He subsequently worked with Gregory S. Smith & Assoc., Counselors in Taylors, SC.

Surviving is his wife of 64 years, Caroline Burrows Lawson; his children: Jeanne Lawson Williams (Joseph C.); John Rutledge Lawson (Pamela) and their children, Elizabeth Blake Lawson Sorrel (Mac), John Rutledge Lawson, Jr. and Ashley Caroline Lawson Long (Zach); Geoffrey Alexander Lawson; and his daughter, Jeanne Alexandra Lawson; and Mary Eadon Lawson Robinson and her children, Alexis Eadon Robinson and Ashby Guerra Robinson.

He was predeceased by a brother, John Perrin Lawson, Jr. and a sister, Jeanne Lawson Burrows.

A memorial service will be held 2 p.m., October 5, 2019 at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church, conducted by Rev. Curtis Dubose.

The family will receive friends following the service at Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church.

The family requests that memorials be made to Mitchell Road Presbyterian Church, 207 Mitchell Road, Greenville, SC 29615 or Shriners Hospital for Children, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605.

Online condolences may be made at www.thewoodmortuary.com

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The man who provided dozens of guns to Upstate serial killer Todd Kohlhepp has been sentenced to federal prison.

Dustan Lawson was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison during a hearing Monday morning. Investigators said 29 on the 32 guns found on Kohlhepp’s Woodruff property were provided by Lawson.

Kohlhepp, who admitted to killing seven people, was unable to legally own a firearm after he was convicted of kidnapping in Arizona in 1986.

In taped interviews with investigators, Kohlhepp is recorded on video saying Lawson helped him purchase the guns but Kohlhepp “modified the hell out of them.” Kohlhepp said none of the guns purchased by Lawson were obtained illegally and that he had receipts for some of them.

Lawson admitted he knew Kohlhepp was a felon when he made the weapons transfer.

Lawson transferred a FII .40 caliber handgun, a Sig Sauer 7.62 rifle, Barrett 82A1 .50 caliber rifle, Glock .45 caliber handgun, Glock .40 caliber handgun, Glock 9mm handgun, Sig Sauer 5.56 rifle, Sig Sauer .45 caliber handgun, PTR .308 rifle, Sig Sauer 9mm handgun, and Ruger 308 handgun, and with multiple Advanced Armament Corp. firearm silencers to the killer, who is serving seven life sentences in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Lawson was indicted in October 2017 on 36 federal charges after authorities said he had purchased guns and transferred them to Kohlhepp. He pleaded guilty in May 2018.

According to documents obtained by FOX Carolina under a Freedom of Information Act request, investigators along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms spoke with Lawson early in their investigation into Kohlhepp.

Notes from investigators indicate in interviews with Lawson, he told them he heard Kohlhepp admit to the quadruple homicide at Superbike Motorsports but “it was hard to tell what was the truth and what was not with Kohlhepp because he told such wild stories.”

An attorney for Lawson also told investigators at some point, Kohlhepp had talked about luring a woman and her boyfriend to his property because “he wanted to keep her as his sex slave,” the court documents state.

Chuck Carver, the father of Charlie Carver, one of Kohlhepp’s victims, was at Lawson’s bond hearing.

“I just wanted to asking him, what were you thinking?” Chuck Carver said. “It’s just one of those things where... I don’t know. You don’t know why people do what they do.”

Federal prisoners do not qualify for parole.

Copyright 2018 WHNS. All rights reserved.

Retiring Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson bid a heartfelt farewell to fellow justices, court administrators, and staff in an afternoon ceremony in the Court Rotunda on his final day in office.

Lawson called the occasion “bittersweet,” saying he will miss his colleagues but that he is also excited about the next chapter of his life.

“Public service at this level is an extraordinary sacrifice, it’s never not on your mind,” Lawson said. “And yet, that sacrifice, for those of us who have had the privilege of doing it, is self-rewarding because any time we serve beyond ourselves, the rewards just flow in.”

Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, in a brief introduction, said Lawson showed an extraordinary dedication to the Florida Supreme Court, and the judiciary in general.

“We’re part of an institution that exists over time that is committed to certain ideals,” he said. “Everybody appreciates it to some extent, but there are some who appreciate it more than others, and I put Alan in the category.”

Lawson announced his retirement April 29, following a 21-year judicial career that reached its apex in 2016 when he was appointed Florida’s 86th Supreme Court justice.

Prior to that, Lawson served 11 years on the Fifth District Court of Appeal, including a year as chief judge, and four years as a Ninth Judicial Circuit judge in Orange and Osceola counties.

A 1987 Florida State University College of Law graduate and former Steel Hector & Davis associate and partner, Lawson also served a nearly four-year stint as assistant county attorney for Orange County.

His other professional service included chair of the District Court of Appeal Budget Commission and nine years on the Florida Courts Technology Commission.

Early in his legal career, Lawson became a test writer and grader for the Florida Board of Bar Examiners, and later served as the Supreme Court’s liaison to the board.

In addition to his judicial career, Lawson is widely known for his charitable pursuits, including work with impoverished communities in Central America. Lawson and his wife, Julie Carlton Lawson, made frequent trips to Honduras where they volunteered with Surgical and Medical Assistance Relief Teams, Hope for Honduras, and Mi Esperanza, to name just a few.

Muñiz said Lawson will be remembered as a deep thinker with interests that extend beyond legal theory, to math, science, and health, and as someone who lives the Christian faith he so readily espouses, especially through the kindness he shows to coworkers.

“It’s just very rewarding, and it’s just a great blessing to be able to work with colleagues like that,” Muñiz said. “I know that I treat people better because of the example that I see in Alan, and I’m sure that I speak for all of us on the court, and all of us here that are part of the court family.”

Reminding court staff that he is a student of Florida Supreme Court history, Lawson said he is convinced “this is the best court,” Florida has ever produced.

“Justice is the first order of any society,” said Lawson, quoting Thomas Jefferson, “and we know, if the courts do our job, our neighbors have a better life.”

Stressing that a person’s daily interaction with others is more important than their station in life, Lawson dug even deeper into history and quoted Pericles, the Greek politician and general.

“Our legacy is not what’s written in stone on our passing, but what is woven into the lives of others that we encounter along the way.”