Carolina

Court Sentences South Carolina Residents for Targeting Hispanics in Robberies

Court Sentences South Carolina Residents for Targeting Hispanics in Robberies

**Columbia, SC** – Three men and one woman from South Carolina received sentences for violent crimes targeting Hispanic individuals in Columbia, South Carolina. Charles Antonio Clippard, 27, was sentenced to 420 months; Michael Joseph Knox, 29, received 303 months; Gabriel Brunson, 21, received 100 months; and Sierra Fletcher, 34, was sentenced to 200 months.

These individuals previously admitted guilt to charges including carjacking, conspiracy, firearms offenses, and violating criminal civil rights. In early 2021, they conspired to rob Hispanic victims by approaching them at gas stations and grocery stores, later pursuing and robbing them at gunpoint at their residences or other locations. On January 30, 2021, the group committed an armed robbery and carjacking against a Hispanic victim, whom they followed and targeted at his home. Additional incidents that day involved carjacking another victim and a home invasion, leading to thefts of cash, cellphones, driver’s licenses, and credit cards.

The announcement of these sentences was made by Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division,

Suspect Nabbed After Police Pursuit in North Carolina

handcuffs

Suspect Nabbed After Slow-Speed Pursuit in North Carolina

**Boone, NC** – A suspect was apprehended following a low-speed pursuit involving Watauga and Wilkes Counties on March 18, 2025.

A Watauga County deputy attempted a traffic stop on a silver Infiniti on U.S. Highway 421, due to erratic driving in a 55 MPH zone. The driver, suspected of impairment, did not comply, instead executing a U-turn toward Deep Gap.

Efforts to stop the vehicle using spike strips by the North Carolina State Highway Patrol were initially unsuccessful. The pursuit continued into Wilkes County, where the Wilkesboro Police Department deployed spike strips near Lowe’s Hardware, successfully stopping the vehicle.

The suspect, Matthew David Adubato, 42, of Boynton Beach, Florida, faces charges in Wilkes County, including Driving While Impaired and Fleeing to Elude Arrest. Additional charges are pending in Watauga County. The Watauga County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged the support of multiple law enforcement agencies in resolving the incident.