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COLUMBIA - A pastor and his wife have been arrested on fraud charges after allegedly misusing church funds.

The charges come after a complainant contacted Richland County Sheriff’s Department investigators regarding the pastor of his church misusing church funds, the department said in a release.

What authorities say happened

The complainant told investigators that Barry L. Spears, the pastor of his church, had been accepting donations through the unnamed church’s nonprofit status and was using the parishioners’ donations to pay personal bills, according to the news release from the sheriff’s department.

Social media posts show that Barry L. Spears was removed as the pastor of SonRise Baptist Church on Alpine Road in Columbia several months ago. The church appears to have changed its name to Hilltop Baptist in August, per posts on its Facebook page.

“As a result of the recent 3-year engagement conducted by The Hobbs Group of Columbia, SC, it was discovered that there was a lack of institutional control concerning church finances, no accountability, no checks and balances to guard against fraud, and found numerous unauthorized expenditures paid from church funds,” according to a June 2 Facebook post addressed to the family and friends of SonRise.

The post said funding from another ministry was also being rerouted into the church’s account and then converted for personal use.

“Barry and DeeDee Spears were the only individuals on the church accounts during this time period and had complete control of the church finances,” the post from June 2 said.

What are the charges?

Arrest warrants for Barry L. Spears and Jeri B. Spears were obtained on Sept. 28. They turned themselves in the following day and were transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.

Both received personal recognizance bonds.

A Columbia woman was recently arrested after she cashed in winning lottery tickets at the Lowcountry convenience store where she worked at the time, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. The lottery tickets had previously been stolen from the same store, SLED said Thursday in a news release.

Iveta Zavon Charmaine Gilliard, 25, was charged with intent to defraud, counterfeit game tickets, according to the release.

Between April 2 and April 26, Gilliard redeemed the stolen lottery tickets at the Circle K gas station/convenience store at 207 Old Trolley Road in Summerville, an arrest warrant shows.

Gilliard was identified by store management, according to the arrest warrant.

Information about the number of tickets and the amount of prize money that was received for the stolen games was not available.

On Monday, Gilliard was booked into the Dorchester County Detention Center, SLED said. She has since been released, jail records show. She was issued a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, Dorchester County court records show.

Gilliard will be prosecuted by the 1st Circuit Solicitor’s Office. She’s scheduled to return to court Dec. 1, according to judicial records.

If convicted on the felony charge, Gilliard faces a maximum punishment of 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine, according to South Carolina law.

The SLED investigation was requested by South Carolina Education Lottery.

When she was arrested, Gilliard was already out on bond from a May 3 arrest when she was charged with petit larceny (value $2,000 or less), jail records show. She posted a $1,087.50 on that charge, which is pending, according to court records.

Gilliard is also facing pending charges in Richland County, court records show.

She was arrested on multiple drug charges in January 2024, again in March 2024 and also from a May 2024 arrest, according to court records.

The game is officially on at a new pinball-centric bar and grill on Columbia’s busy Rosewood Drive.

Bang Back Bar & Grill, a casual dining restaurant and watering hole that features a host of pinball games, arcade games and other amusements, had its grand opening Thursday afternoon at 2719 Rosewood Drive. The occasion was marked with remarks from owner Frederick Richardson and a ribbon cutting with city of Columbia officials., including District 3 City Councilman Will Brennan.

The new Bang Back Bar & Grill is located in a building that formerly was home to the venerable Rockaway Athletic Club bar and restaurant for more than 40 years before it closed in 2024. It was announced earlier this year that Richardson would bring Bang Back to the brick building that sits at the corer of Rosewood Drive and Howard Street.

This is the second location for the Bang Back brand in Columbia. Richardson also owns the Bang Back Pinball Lounge on Saluda Avenue in Five Points, which has been open for nearly 7 years.

Richardson, a championship pinball player who has been involved with the game, in one way or another, for 35 years, noted that pinball has helped foster community and bring folks together at the Five Points Bang Back location in recent years.

He said he is now looking to bring that same community vibe to the new restaurant, which is in the heart of the Rosewood neighborhood and is not far from the Shandon neighborhood and the University of South Carolina.

“This location is dead center, right in the heart of that, all three of those areas are here,” Richardson said Thursday afternoon. “This is your place. ... We are just getting started. Hopefully it’s a great restaurant and hopefully it’s a fun place to go. But more than anything, to me, it is a community center. We are here for the people.”

Brennan, whose District 3 includes the Rosewood area, said he is pleased to see the former Rockaway space activated once again, and added he thinks Bang Back will be an establishment that neighborhood families and residents can enjoy.

“The way Fred has come and programmed this space, with video games, pinball and offerings for people all ages, is great,” Brennan told The State. “It’s a unique approach. ... On a local community level, I think this offering is a winner, and I think it’s a great, great plug-in to the Rosewood area.”

The walls at the Rosewood Bang Back are lined with colorful pinball games, many themed to popular movies such as Godzilla, King Kong, Star Wars, Pulp Fiction and other familiar names. The restaurant also has arcade games — including the classic shoot-em-up Laser Ghost — as well as Skee-Ball, pop-a-shot and more.

Meanwhile, the Rosewood Bang Back has a host of items on its food menu, including chicken wings, jumbo all-beef hot dogs, salads, country fried chicken, meatloaf, burgers (including a pimento cheese patty melt), a variety of flatbreads and more.

The bar and grill also has a full bar and a deep roster of appetizers including Korean pork belly bites, mozzarella sticks, hot pimento fries, and pork dumplings, among other offerings.

Richardson noted that a motto at the Five Points version of Bang Back has long been “Come and make friends.” He noted he hopes to bring that same feeling to the new Rosewood location.

“This is where you are going to come and make friends,” Richardson said on Thursday. “Let’s come in, leave your problems at the door and just have a good time when you get here. I really hope you’ll enjoy it.”

CHAPIN– Midlands residents have a new YMCA in the area. It’s the first for the small town of Chapin.

Ribbons were cut at the new Chapin YMCA, located at 105 Ellett Road, on Sept. 28. The opening marks the YMCA of Columbia's sixth location.

The new facility in the town near Lake Murray features state-of-the-art cardio and strength equipment, group exercise rooms with scheduled classes and a red-light sauna. It also offers members 24/7 access, a first for YMCA of Columbia locations.

The new YMCA is in the Chapin Commons shopping center, a project brought to the town by the Happy Fork restaurant group, which operates two of its three current restaurants there — the brunch spot Bakon and the Chophouse of Chapin. The shopping center sits across Columbia Avenue from Chapin High School.

The spot that the YMCA takes in the shopping center was previously home to MUV Fitness.

Kate Yutuc, Chapin YMCA operations director, said it was important to bring a YMCA to a community that lacked one, and to bring one with 24/7 access.

“Doctors and nurses or people who don't have that nine-to-five flexibility can come in and work out whenever they'd like to,” she said. “I would say that's kind of one of the biggest community impacts.”

Jim Vietti, YMCA of Columbia’s CEO, said the project was proposed in the fall of 2024. The building was already there, but it took a lot of work to get everything pieced together.

The YMCA invited community members to tour the facility before the ribbon-cutting. The gym has a lobby with seating areas and drinks for member use. The building features a cardio room with treadmills, stair climbers and bikes. A strength room features dumbbells ranging from five to 100 pounds, along with Matrix resistance machines and a mural highlighting the Lake Murray area. There is also a room for scheduled group exercise classes and a Functional Fitness Studio with “high-intensity group training and open workout times.”

Schedules for exercise classes at all locations are available on the YMCA of Columbia website.

YMCA of Columbia memberships give access to all six locations, as well as Orangeburg and Santee Water Parks. Adult memberships are $58 per month, family memberships are $84 per month and young adult memberships are $40 per month.

Yutuc said the new gym will have a big impact on youth. The young adult membership is available for ages 15-20. Young adult members under age 18 may use the Chapin YMCA during regular operating hours but are not eligible for after-hours 24/7 access.

“The teens and the youth that we're going to be able to bring in here and benefit their entire life by showing them how to work out and giving them access to work out,” she said. “It's definitely life-changing for a lot of those youngsters.”

The Chapin Commons shopping center is also home to Glō Skin Bar and Medical Spa and a Prisma Health Family Medicine practice. Near where Chapin Commons is located, a daily average of about 13,800 vehicles pass through Columbia Avenue, according to state Department of Transportation data.

South Carolina football is back home this weekend.

Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks will host Kentucky at Williams-Brice Stadium. The SEC matchup is set to kick off at 4:15 and be televised on SEC Network.

USC (2-2, 0-2 SEC) comes into the game still looking for its first conference win. The Gamecocks lost 49-18 to Alabama last weekend in Tuscaloosa. Meanwhile, first-year head coach Will Stein and the Wildcats (3-1, 1-1 SEC) are looking to extend their win streak to three games.

South Carolina has won its last four matchups with Kentucky. The Wildcats’ last win in the series came in 2020 (their win in 2021 was vacated).

Here’s everything you need to know about Saturday’s game:

Is the South Carolina football game on TV this week?

South Carolina vs. Kentucky betting odds

The sports betting overlords in Las Vegas haven’t given up on the Gamecocks just yet.

South Carolina is currently favored to beat Kentucky by most major sportsbooks. The Gamecocks opened as a 7-point favorite, per the VegasInsider consensus. However, the line has moved in favor of the Wildcats in the last week, and USC is now generally favored by three or fewer points.

DraftKings has USC as a 3-point favorite, while FanDuel has USC as a 2.5-point favorite. South Carolina is 1-3 against the spread this year.

The Gamecocks have a 57.9% chance of beating Kentucky, per ESPN Analytics.

Injury updates

South Carolina has seven players listed on the first official SEC injury report released Wednesday night.

Veteran defensive lineman Gabriel Brownlow-Dindy, who missed last week, is listed as questionable.

DB Jalewis Soloman, WR Jayden Sellers, LB A.J. Holloway, OL Josiah Thompson and edge rusher Kobby Sakyi-Prah are all listed as out.

Star edge rusher Dylan Stewart is also listed as out. Beamer announced Stewart was suspended indefinitely due to his actions in the Alabama game on Sunday.

The SEC injury report will be updated on Thursday, Friday and 90 minutes before kickoff on Saturday.

Weather forecast for Columbia

It might be a good idea to bring a rain jacket with you to Williams-Brice Stadium on Saturday.

Temperatures will get up to around 88 degrees with a real feel of 95, per AccuWeather. It’s expected to be humid and warm with a strong chance of afternoon thunderstorms around kickoff time.

Any rain should cool things off for a bit, as the low on the day is expected to be in the high 60s.

Top storylines

How will the Gamecocks respond … this time? After losing to Mississippi State, Beamer said his team would be defined by how it responded to that loss. A week, later the Gamecocks lost 49-18 to Alabama. After that loss, Beamer, once again, said his team will be defined by how they respond the next week. Beamer doubled down in Tuscaloosa and said he has no doubt South Carolina will respond the right way vs. Kentucky. Will South Carolina respond to two-straight losses with a win? Or will Beamer be forced to triple down on the sentiment in another post-loss press conference?

Finishing in the red zone: South Carolina has had no problem moving the ball in SEC play (USC averaged 425 yards in the last two games) but it has left plenty of points on the board. For example, last week vs. Alabama, the Gamecocks drove deep into Crimson Tide territory on the first two drives of the game but couldn’t score after a missed field goal and failed fourth-down conversion. The Gamecocks are No. 11 in the SEC in red zone conversions and No. 72 in the entire country. If South Carolina wants to get its first conference win it’ll need to finish drives early and often.

Fixing lapses on defense: South Carolina’s defense has struggled since the start of SEC play. The Gamecocks have allowed over 40 points and an average of 441 total yards in each of the last two contests. USC’s secondary has looked especially vulnerable in the last two weeks. Mississippi State’s Kamario Taylor and Alabama’s Keelon Russell combined for 623 yards passing and nine touchdowns vs. South Carolina. The Gamecocks will need to shore up communication issues in the secondary and get more pressure on the quarterback in order to limit opponents’ passing game.

South Carolina and Kentucky players to watch

South Carolina RB Matt Fuller: Fuller has continued to be a bright spot in South Carolina’s last two losses. Last week, during a 49-18 loss to Alabama, Fuller ran for 112 yards and a touchdown. That brought his total for the year up to 384 yards and four touchdowns. Fuller has already surpassed his total rushing yards and touchdowns from the last two seasons in four games this year (and he’s done it in 23 fewer carries, no less).

South Carolina DB Quay’sheed Scott: The Columbia native will get to face his former team on Saturday. Scott spent the first two years of his career at Kentucky and played in 23 games for the Wildcats. Scott has played an important role at nickel since transferring to South Carolina this year. He’s played 121 defensive snaps, per Pro Football Focus, which ranks for No. 8 on the team and No. 5 among defensive backs. Scott has five tackles on the year and has only allowed three receptions, per PFF.

Kentucky QB Kenny Minchey: The senior rarely saw action in the first three years of his career at Notre Dame but has taken over as the Wildcats’ starting quarterback. Minchey has thrown for 876 yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception this season. He’s not as big a threat on the ground as the last two quarterbacks USC has faced, but he’s still a formidable opponent.

Kentucky DB Jordan Castell: The Florida transfer has proven to be one of the most productive tacklers in the SEC this season. Castell is ranked No. 2 in the SEC with 36 total tackles through four games. The defensive back is also tied for the most interceptions in the SEC with two so far this season. His PFF tackling grade is one of the best in the conference.