Criminal Defense Lawyer in Fort Mill, SC

FORT MILL, S.C. (WBTV) - We’re learning just how serious state officials are taking the safety concerns at the new Silfab Solar plant in Fort Mill. Hours after a chemical spill near an elementary school the state stepped in, ordering all work at the site to stop.

This project has faced intense scrutiny for months, and Tuesday’s chemical spill has clearly escalated concerns. In a statement on Tuesday, March 3, the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services says Silfab must stop receiving additional chemicals and pause start-up operations while the agency investigates.

State officials said they learned the company had received chemicals at the York County facility before it was fully operational, prompting the stop-work order.

State Representative Davis Martin said in a Facebook post, “There will be no addition work that is performed until the investigation concludes.”

Tuesday morning, emergency crews responded within minutes, and officials say the spill was contained to Silfab’s property. The company reports less than 300 gallons of mostly water containing a small amount of potassium hydroxide, often used in chemical manufacturing, were released.

Fort Mill County Council representative Debi Cloninger told us she “never thought that we would be in the position that we’re in right now” when she learned of the chemical spill.

Fort Mill residents also voicing their concerns, again, at the monthly school board meeting.

“We have warned you about this from the podium, we have presented evidence, cited case studies, asked direct questions, and we’ve been met with resistance. Resistance that told us we were overreacting, that we were alarmists,” said Fort Mill resident Patrick Lloyd to the board during public comment.

Silfab said the concentration spilled could cause skin irritation if touched. York County officials tell us they’ve been assured by regulators there was no threat to public safety.

Representative Martin said Fort Mill Superintendent Gray Young has done a great job of trying to make sure that his students are protected, “that they’re taken care of.”

Fort Mill Schools confirmed air monitoring systems at nearby Flint Hill Elementary School did not detect any contaminants, so classes continued as normal.

Representative Martin says this spill is exactly why he filed House Bill 4293, “We cannot allow industrial facilities operating near our schools and neighborhoods to put our families at risk.” The bill will be heard on the House floor this Thursday.

We’ll let you know what happens.

FORT MILL, S.C. (WBTV) - There are even more concerns among parents and Fort Mill’s community after emergency crews responded to an accidental chemical spill at the Silfab Solar facility on Tuesday morning.

The facility was ordered to stop work at the facility on Tuesday, March 3, by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. The request came after a chemical spill happened near Flint Hill Elementary on Tuesday morning.

“We believe it is appropriate for Silfab to cease receipt of any additional chemicals at the facility and pause start-up until an investigation can be completed,” the letter said.

The facility sits close to Flint Hill Elementary School and had parents worried about environmental safety.

Hundred gallons of a chemical containing potassium hydroxide was spilled at the facility Tuesday along Logistics Lane in Fort Mil just before 10 a.m.

Emergency crews responded for several hours. WBTV spoke with people that live and represent this area who are concerned that accidents like this are just the start of safety concerns.

Scott Jensen is a Fort Mill resident and parent who is part of Carolina Against Industrialization.

“This morning, we heard chemical spill — you know I came down here to find out what’s going on," Jensen said.

Jensen said he’s opposed this facility being in the community for years. He and others have shared concerns about its environmental impacts and safety — including incidents like spills.

Tuesday, Silfab Solar says no more than 300 gallons of diluted potassium hydroxide were spilled. Director of Operations, Greg Basden, said:

“Silfab Solar can confirm the accidental release of no more than 300 gallons of water diluted to a level of .03% potassium hydroxide at our Fort Mill facility today. We notified York County emergency management per protocol, and they responded immediately. The situation is under control. We are working with our local emergency services and there is no danger to public safety.”

This past May, USC released a report on the facility analyzing emergency impacts for four chemicals, not including this one. It found that those chemicals could impact communities more than three miles away.

“It can go as far as Carowinds, South Park, Pineville, down into Lancaster County, across the Interstate 77 into those neighborhoods. But the hardest hit will be unfortunately the children,” said York County council member Debi Cloninger represents Fort Mill.

Flint Hill Elementary School sits around a mile away from Silfab. Fort Mill Schools has worked with Citadel EHS on health and safety plans because of concerns around the school’s proximity.

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They say they’ve checked with their air quality monitoring system that has not registered any contaminants on school sites.

Cloninger believes this spill is a warning.

“And we as County Council will have to take a hard look at this also and see what, what some hard decisions are going to have to be made,” Cloninger said.

Last month, a Circuit Court order dismissed a case challenging York County’s action in siting and permitting Silfab Solar in the county. Despite that residents say they hope community leaders reconsider.

The video above is a live stream of WBTV and affiliated programming, and may not be directly related to the article below.

FORT MILL, S.C. (WBTV) - The state ordered a highly-controversial solar plant in York County to pause operations following a chemical spill Tuesday near an elementary school.

On Tuesday, March 3, the The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services ordered work to stop at Silfab Solar Facility in Fort Mill. The request came after a chemical spill happened near Flint Hill Elementary on Tuesday morning.

The state’s environmental department sent a letter to Silfab Solar on Tuesday that requires the business to immediately pause operations.

“The Department has become aware that Silfab Solar received chemicals at its York County facility in advance of becoming operational, and that today, potassium hydroxide was released beyond an area of containment and to a nearby stormwater retention pond,” the letter read.

“We believe it is appropriate for Silfab to cease receipt of any additional chemicals at the facility and pause start-up until an investigation can be completed,” the letter said.

Silfab issued a statement in response to the letter, saying that clean-up operations would be completed on Tuesday, and that there was “never any danger to our employees or the public.”

At around 9:45 a.m. on Tuesday, 1,530 gallons of potassium hydroxide were released at the plant on Logistics Lane due to what officials described as “an incident.” The spill happened near Flint Hill Elementary School in Fort Mill, which is a short walk from the Silfab facility.

Most of the chemicals -- about 1,500 gallons -- were reportedly ontained in Silfab’s retention pool. The remaining 30 gallons were mitigated by HAZMAT crews, officials said.

School officials said Tuesday that the district did not register any contaminants on campus. School reportedly remained in session on Tuesday.

“Emergency responders were on scene within three minutes and confirmed the incident posed no danger to the public,” an emergency management spokesperson said.

Potassium hydroxide is commonly used in industrial manufacturing and can create significant risks at high concentrations.

Silfab Solar issued the following statement at around 5 p.m. on Tuesday:

The clean-up of the spill on Silfab Solar’s property this morning will be completed today. There was never any danger to our employees or the public.

As with any emergency, early reports can contain misinformation. Here are the facts:

The release was discovered and reported by Silfab personnel to local emergency personnel, who responded quickly. We appreciate the partnership with local officials who coordinated the response according to established protocols.

At this time, Silfab is working with state and local officials to investigate the cause of the release and will take any steps necessary to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.

From August 2025:

York County Sheriff Tony Breeden has requested for SLED to investigate the incident.

FORT MILL, S.C. — An investigation has been launched after the York County Sheriff's Office said a deputy fired at a person they said charged at the deputy while armed with a knife Friday morning.

That person has been identified as Allan Josue Topete-Guevara, according to York County deputies.

The office said deputies responded to a home along Pine Ridge Court in Fort Mill around 9:20 a.m. after it was reported a person was in a home unconscious and not breathing. However, deputies said they arrived to find the person conscious and armed with a knife.

The sheriff's office then said the person barricaded themself in a room. One deputy ordered the Topete-Guevara to put the knife down and leave the room. However, the sheriff's office said he refused to do so after opening the door.

At that point, the sheriff's office said Topete-Guevara charged at the deputy. The deputy then fired his weapon, killing him.

No deputies reported injuries.

The sheriff's office noted that Sheriff Tony Breeden has requested the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate, and said further information would come from that agency. The deputy, who has also not been identified, is now on paid administrative leave.

If your loved one was impacted by this incident, WCNC Charlotte hopes to make this process less painful with our More Than A Number initiative. With your help, we want to share who your loved one was with our viewers in North Carolina and South Carolina. When you're ready, fill out the form below or send us photos, memories and other details about them to desk@wcnc.com.

Tradition Never Graduates.

That’s definitely a mantra Fort Mill wrestling can take after the Yellow Jackets fourth straight state championship after a dominating 52-11 victory over Lugoff-Elgin Wednesday night in the Class 5A, Division II state championship at White Knoll High School.

Fort Mill senior Lincoln Greene, who earned a 16-0 technical fall victory in the 157-pound weight class, has been a part of that dynasty the entire time. He wanted to go out the same way the seniors went out when he was a freshman and just learning the ropes.

“When I came in as a freshman, my whole class, all we know is winning state championships,” Greene said. “But that started with the seniors when I was a freshman. I wanted to be like that and be a huge role model to all the underclassmen. They’re the future of this program, and it means a lot to show them how to grind it out every single day. It shows all our hard work pays off. It’s absolutely amazing.”

You will not get an argument from Lugoff-Elgin coach Ted Monroe that his team faced the best the state has to offer.

Fort Mill (31-0) only lost three dual matches over the course of four seasons, and the Yellow Jackets completed a second straight undefeated season in grand fashion.

“They’re the best team in South Carolina in all classifications,” Monroe said.

It would be hard to argue that point.

The two teams came into the finals ranked No. 1 and 2 in the SCMat.com polls, but there was a big difference between the top spot and second place. The championship was the third meeting between the schools with Fort Mill winning 44-18 on Nov. 22 and 54-19 on Dec. 16. The championship was more of the same.

The dual started at the 132-pound weight class and Tyler McChesney got the Demons off to a good start with an 8-4 victory. But Fort Mill got things rolling after that.

Cooper Van Beynum (138), Jayden Nguyen (144), Keenan Coston (150), Greene (157) and Broden Mitcheson (165) ripped off wins to make it 22-3. Lugoff-Elgin’s Jakaleb Robinson stopped the momentum for a short time with a 13-3 win at the 175-pound weight class to make it 22-7.

Maurice Lawrence (190) won for the Yellow Jackets before Logan Hinton (215) gave the Demons its final points of the night. Krystian Villatoro scored a first quarter pin at 285 to put Fort Mill on the brink of the title before Peter Escudero (106) clinched the match with a 19-4 decision that gave the Yellow Jackets a 38-11 lead. Morrison Murphy (113), Luke Van Beynum (120) and Grayson Wallen (120) each claimed wins to round out the victory.

“These guys have just continued to get better every day, every opportunity they have to get better, they continue to get better,” Fort Mill coach Adam Marullo said. “Obviously, the team state championship is done, but we still have two tournaments to wrestle. We’re going to continue to get better over the next couple of days and coming weeks.”

This is the fourth straight season Lugoff-Elgin has lost in the finals. The Demons last won a state championship in 2010.

“We don’t have anything to be ashamed of. We finished the season 40-3 with all three losses to Fort Mill,” Monroe said. “We didn’t wrestle well tonight. It was a snowball effect. We had one or two, we had a chance to win early on that got away from us. We had that deer in the headline look and we’re not used to having that. I don’t think it was an effort problem; it was an execution problem. We have to lick our wounds and get ready for individuals.”

SCHSL Wrestling Championships

Class 5A Division I

At Lexington High School

Clover 34, James Island 31

Class 5A Division II Boys

At White Knoll HS

Fort Mill 52, Lugoff-Elgin 11

Class 4A

At Gilbert HS

May River 31, Travelers Rest 29

Class 3A

At Lexington HS

West-Oak 54, Hanahan 15

Class 2A Boys

At White Knoll HS

Chesnee 70, Edisto 12