‘Faithful servant‘: Community mourns after retired Rock Hill police officer slain
At the Rock Hill Police Department for three decades, everybody called Lt. Lawrence “Larry” Vaughan by his initials, “LV.”
And they also called him friend, and brother, and an advocate for crime victims. And as fine an officer and SWAT operator as wore the uniform, his peers said.
Vaughan was so dedicated to the police department, that at the end of his career, he literally lived across the street from his office.
Those descriptions were coupled with tears Friday night into Saturday. Vaughan, 54, was found dead Friday after an apparent assault at his apartment in downtown Rock Hill.
Rock Hill police Lt. Tony Breeden worked with Vaughan their entire careers on patrol and on SWAT. They were friends who were like brothers, Breeden said.
“LV was the most loyal, most devoted man I knew,” Breeden said Saturday. “One of the best cops to ever walk at 120 E. Black St. (The address of the police station.) Often times, people use terms like ‘He was one of a kind,’ or ‘You never knew somebody like that.’ Not with LV. The only sorrow I have is for the people who truly never got to know him and share their life with LV.”
A former Chester County sheriff’s deputy, Evan Robert Hawthorne, 27, was charged late Friday with Vaughan’s murder.
The circumstances around Vaughan’s death have not been released by the York County Sheriff’s Office.
York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson, in a statement, said the crime was not a random act of violence, but deputies have not said how Vaughan and Hawthorne had come into contact with each other.
York County Coroner Sabrina Gast said in a statement Saturday that Vaughan’s death is being investigated as a homicide.
Gast has not released details about the attack on Vaughan. Autopsy and toxicology results are pending, Gast said.
The York County Sheriff’s Office is handling the case because of Vaughan’s ties to Rock Hill police, officials said.
Victim advocate, then a victim
Rock Hill politicians, cops, and regular people were stunned, shocked, and saddened that an officer who spent so long helping victims would end up one himself.
Vaughan retired in late 2020 after 30 years with the department as the lieutenant over criminal investigations — those cases of murder and rape and beatings that the detectives under him worked to solve as police sought justice for victims.
Retired Rock Hill police Capt. Charles Cabaniss worked with Vaughan for more than two decades in patrol, SWAT, and other units.
“LV was always there for victims and his fellow officers,” Cabaniss said Saturday. “We could always count on Larry to have our back, and give his all for his community. This is just a terrible and senseless tragedy.”
After Vaughan was found Friday, a phalanx of Rock Hill officers formed an escort as his body was taken to the Piedmont Medical Center hospital morgue.
The officers came to attention — some in uniform, many in civilian clothes — and saluted as Vaughan’s body was brought into the building.
There were no words, said one of the cops who was in the line of salutes. Just an honor to one of their own.
Vaughan also worked in the canine and drug units. He also spent years as a detective and supervisor.
Marvin Brown, the retired commander of the York County drug unit, said Vaughan had a work ethic that was unsurpassed.
“We could always count on Larry to respond day or night,” Brown said.
Vaughan retired after 20 years on the SWAT team in 2019, about a year before he retired from law enforcement.
Tega Cay Police Chief Steve Parker, who worked with Vaughan in Rock Hill for more than 20 years, said Vaughan’s dedication to the public will always be remembered. Vaughan’s gave decades of service on SWAT during some of the most tense and difficult circumstances, Parker said.
“Larry Vaughan was a faithful servant, loving father, dear friend, and my brother who protected all while on his SWAT team,” Parker said Saturday. “All who knew him loved him.”
Hundreds of tributes to Vaughan were posted on Facebook and other social media.
One commenter stated: “I’m heartbroken, for those that respond. May God Bless you all for you do, from taking the calls and responding. My heart hurts for this entire situation.”
Mayor thanks Vaughan for his service
Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys issued a statement Saturday about Vaughan’s service to community while thanking deputies from the Sheriff’s Office for investigating the case and making an arrest.
“We are grateful to Sheriff Tolson and the members of the York County Sheriff’s Office for their quick work in bringing closure to what has been a very difficult day for the members of the Rock Hill Police Department,” Gettys said. “We remember with gratitude the work of Lieutenant Larry Vaughan. He often served at our Council meetings and was always a reassuring presence in those meetings. Our prayers are with his family and the entire Police Department in the coming days.”
Support for Vaughan’s family
Vaughan had two daughters, according to his former co-workers. Friends of Vaughan set up a GoFundMe account Saturday to help the children.
In less than two hours Saturday afternoon, the fund had more than $4,500 in pledged donations from the public.
The suspect
Hawthorne, the suspect charged with murder, was denied bail Saturday morning during a brief court hearing at the York County jail, according to court records.
Hawthorne was approved for a court-appointed lawyer based on his financial status, court officials told The Herald. It is unclear if Hawthorne will be appointed a lawyer from the York County Public Defender’s Office.
Efforts to reach the public defender’s office Saturday were unsuccessful.
Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey confirmed to The Herald on Friday night that Hawthorne was a deputy at the Chester County Sheriff’s Office in 2019. Hawthorne was terminated in 2019 after he was arrested for DUI in Chester County while off-duty in a patrol car, according to the S.C. Highway Patrol and Dorsey.
South Carolina public court records show Hawthorne was enrolled in veterans court in Chester County. The court in Chester was created in 2020 as a pretrial diversion program for military veterans, prosecutors said in a statement in 2020.
Hawthorne’s military service record has not been released.
In a statement released by the York County Sheriff’s Office, deputies listed Hawthorne’s residence as Chester.
However, Hawthorne was a student at Winthrop University in Rock Hill and had been residing in campus apartment in the Winthrop Courtyard at the time of the incident Friday, according to an email sent to Winthrop students and staff Friday night by the university’s police chief. That email was obtained by The Herald from Winthrop officials.
The email was sent to the Winthrop community because York County sheriff’s deputies were conducting a search of Hawthorne’s apartment as part of the investigation, the email stated. There was no threat to students or staff, according to the email.
What happens now?
Funeral arrangements for Vaughan have not been set.
No trial date has been set for Hawthorne.
A conviction for murder in South Carolina carries a sentence of 30 years to life in prison in the S.C. Department of Corrections.
This story was originally published July 24, 2021 at 6:18 PM.
