Day 2 of suspended Marlboro County sheriff’s federal trial wraps up in Florence

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — The father of the prisoner who was Tased in an alleged excessive force incident involving suspended Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon testified during Day 2 of Lemon’s trial.

In the two days of the trial so far, six witnesses have taken the stand, including former deputy David Andrew Cook, two correctional officers present at the time of the incident, two law enforcement officials and reverend Ronnie Johnson, the father of prisoner Jarrel Johnson.

Ronnie Johnson told the court when he first heard about the incident, officials said his son was trying to “attack the sheriff.” Ronnie said at first, he didn’t want to watch the body camera footage because he didn’t want to see his son in pain.

Another witness testified about Lemon’s training records. According to court records, he started his career at the Bennettsville Police Department in 1985. Records show he worked at several departments — both city and county, before moving back to Marlboro County in 2005.

That’s where Lemon, in May 2020, is accused of directing Cook to use a Taser on Jarrel six different times “without legal justification.”

According to Ronnie Johnson, in 2017, Lemon helped him calm down Jarrel after he got a call that Jarrel intended to hurt his ex-wife. Ronnie said that was unusual behavior for Jarrel and said he was grateful to Lemon for helping him that day.

Ronnie also said that on May 3, 2020, he was getting ready for church when Jarrel put Ronnie’s Bible in his garbage can. When Ronnie followed his son to his home down the street, he heard banging noises from inside, saw his son come outside with a baseball bat and only remembered the first time his son hit Ronnie’s head with the bat before he was unconscious.

Ronnie said days after he left the hospital, officials told him that officers needed to use a Taser on Jarrel at the detention center because he was about to attack Lemon.

But in December 2021, an official told Ronnie and his wife that Jarel had not been physically aggressive toward Lemon and that Jarrel was Tased six times.

To this day, Johnson still hasn’t watched the entire body camera footage of the incident. He said when he heard Lemon tell Cook “Tase him in the head” that he interpreted it as “asking him to kill my son.”

* * *

Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

* * *

Jackie LiBrizzi is a multimedia journalist at News13. Jackie is originally from Hamilton, New Jersey, and was raised in Piedmont, South Carolina. Jackie joined the News13 team in June 2023 after she graduated as a student-athlete from the University of South Carolina in May 2023. Follow Jackie on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work he r e .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW.