SC jurors listen to interview of man accused of killing retired Rock Hill cop

A deputy sheriff testified Tuesday that the man accused of killing retired Rock Hill police lieutenant Larry Vaughan four years ago after an argument in a downtown bar had swollen knuckles when he interviewed him.

York County Deputy Sheriff Joshua Yates was one of two witnesses jurors heard testimony from at the Moss Justice Center on Tuesday, where the murder of trial of Evan Hawthorne began.

“There were no injuries whatsoever to his face,” said Yates, who was present for Hawthorne’s arrest and interview. “His right hand was swollen. He had some knees that were busted and some toes that were busted up.”

Jurors also heard from a Rock Hill police officer Tuesday who was friends with Vaughan and found him dead, heard opening arguments from attorneys, and watched body camera footage of the day Hawthorne was arrested and interviewed by Yates and another deputy sheriff.

Hawthorne, a former Chester County deputy sheriff before he was fired in 2019, has pleaded not guilty.

The courtroom was filled with family and spectators. Several brought cushions to sit on for the day. One woman brought a brand new box of tissues while another shared a baggy of peppermints.

During his opening argument, Assistant Solicitor Spenser Smith said Hawthorne attacked Vaughan out of anger after becoming upset by comments made by Vaughan at Tattooed Brews. The two didn’t know each other before July 23, 2021, but bonded at the bar over their work history in law enforcement.

Vaughan was a regular at the bar, which was near his apartment at the corner of Main Street and Dave Lyle Boulevard, and he was close to the owner.

Hawthorne shared with Vaughan that he had PTSD from his work, Smith said. But Vaughan brushed that off, leaving Hawthorne angry and offended.

The pair got very drunk, Smith said. Video from the bar showed that they fell to the ground. Vaughan was helped out of the bar, Smith said. Hawthorne followed out after.

Outside, the pair hugged and made up, Smith said.

This is where accounts differ, the attorneys said.

Smith said Hawthorne followed Vaughan home, pushing his way past someone to get inside the apartment building. He and Vaughan were left alone.

At some point, Hawthorne attacked Vaughan because he was still upset by Vaughan’s disparaging comments about Hawthorne’s PTSD, Smith said, and then left covered in blood.

“He got drunk, he got mad, and then later at the apartment, he got even,” Smith said.

But defense attorney Jack Swerling said Hawthorne didn’t have a car and was too drunk to get home, and was invited by Vaughan to stay the night at his apartment.

And when Hawthorne was inside of the apartment with Vaughan, it was Vaughan who attacked him, Swerling said. Hawthorne was using the bathroom when Vaughan forced his way in and began to attack, he said.

Fearful for his life, Hawthorne fought back and Vaughan died from his injuries, Swerling said. Hawthorne was within his right to fight in self defense, he said.

“If they hug, that is not anger,” Swerling said. “You don’t hug people after you have an argument unless you intend to be friends … afterwards.”

Swerling also told jurors that the police investigation of the death was biased. He told them they would be shocked when they learn this week what police did and didn’t do in the investigation.

Jurors heard testimony from Rock Hill police Sgt. Allen Cantey, who said he was on duty the day he found Vaughan, but went to check on him as a friend.

Cantey said he got a call from a mutual friend, South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Lt. Melissa ‘Skipper’ Wallace, who said Vaughan didn’t show up to her house as planned.

Because Vaughan’s apartment is just down the street from the Rock Hill police station, Cantey drove over, went to the balcony of Vaughn’s apartment and called his name. He said he recognized his balcony because he had an Adirondack chair outside he received after retirement.

He called him on the phone, Cantey said, but got no response. After finding a way into the apartment building, Cantey searched for Vaughan’s unit. He found a package outside with his name on it. He knocked and called for Vaughan again, but got no answer.

“I ended up checking the door knob. The door was unlocked,” Cantey said. “I open the door and I see Larry laying on the floor. The door hits him in the upper body area.”

Cantey said he didn’t step far into the apartment, only far enough to touch Vaughan, who was cold. He called dispatch requesting EMS and a coroner, he said. He thought Vaughan may have had a health issue that caused him to fall and hurt his face, which was bloody and swollen. He was lying in a pool of blood, he said.

But when he noticed blood smeared on the walls outside in the hallway, he wondered if it could have been murder. He said he propped the door open with a trash can and waited for the police to arrive. He could not remember if someone stepped into Vaughan’s apartment, he said, but it was decided to hand the case over to the York County Sheriff’s Office due to the police department’s past work relationship with Vaughan.

The police left shortly after the sheriff’s office arrived, Cantey said.

Curtis Copeland, an attorney on Hawthorne’s defense team, questioned Cantey about the Rock Hill Police Department’s initial handling of the investigation, pointing out it took months for the police report to be written. Copeland said there were discrepancies over time stamps and names on a crime log.

He also questioned how the package outside of Vaughan’s apartment ended up inside if no one entered the apartment before processing evidence. Cantey said he couldn’t recall anyone entering the unit.

Body camera footage of Hawthorne talking to investigators

“I’m trying to do my best to remember,” Hawthorne told investigators, according to body camera footage played in court Tuesday for the jury. “A lot of it is a blur.”

The footage was dated July 24, 2021 — the day after Vaughan’s death.

Hawthorne said he struggled to remember what happened the night he walked into Vaughan’s apartment because of the alcohol. He said he had a drinking problem, often drinking a lot and often. He said it helped him sleep.

He had some drinks before getting to the bar, he said, where he struck up conversations with people near him. This eventually included Vaughan.

When they started talking about PTSD, Hawthorne said his PTSD came from a time a suspect pointed a shotgun at his face. But Vaughan said that was nothing, recalling that he was present when York County Detective Mike Doty was shot and killed in an ambush by a domestic violence suspect.

It upset him, Hawthorne said, but they quickly made up and bought each other shots. He said he can’t remember being mad after that.

Throughout the interview, the deputies showed Hawthorne footage from the bar, outside of the bar, the walk back to Vaughan’s apartment building as they walked by nearby businesses, and the hallway outside of Vaughan’s apartment.

At one point footage caught them falling on the ground at the bar and Hawthorne choking Vaughan, said Yates, the deputy who testified Tuesday. Two people helped Vaughan up and walked him outside. Hawthorne followed after.

As Vaughan was walking home, footage from other businesses tracked him and Hawthorne following behind. At the apartment, someone tried to stop Hawthorne from going in, Yates said, but he pushed his way past and went inside.

Hawthorne said he was invited inside. But asked by Deputy Yates if Vaughan had invited him in, Hawthorne said he couldn’t remember.

“There’s no way I’d go to someone’s apartment without being invited,” Hawthorne said.

Not long after he entered the apartment, Hawthorne stumbled out with bloody hands, smearing the blood on the wall as he supported himself walking out.

Hawthorne told investigators he couldn’t remember much after he went into the apartment, according to the body camera video. He said Vaughan became belligerent and appeared to be ready to attack him.

Vaughan raised his fist and came at him swearing and yelling, Hawthorne said. Hawthorne told investigators he defended himself and they ended up rolling around on the ground.

Hawthorne managed to get Vaughan on his back and pinned him down, he told them. He punched him with his right first, he said. He couldn’t remember how many times, but guessed five or six punches.

Before he lost consciousness, Vaughan reached up to put his hands around Hawthorne’s neck, Hawthorne told investigators.

Hawthorne said he got up after Vaughan stopped, and then left. When he was leaving, he thought Vaughan was just knocked out, he said. He didn’t check to see if he was breathing.

He then began walking back to his apartment near Winthrop University where he was a student, he told investigators. He fell, scraping his knees and toes before making it back. He said he showered and washed his clothes.

Hawthorne said he couldn’t remember what Vaughan was upset about or what he was saying, just that he wanted to get away from him. He said he didn’t think Vaughan would die, just that he was knocked out.

“I feel really sorry for that man,” Hawthorne said. “And his family.”

Yates said during his testimony that law enforcement tried to fill in the gap between when Hawthorne left Vaughan’s apartment, shortly before 1 a.m., and when he got to his own apartment at 5 a.m.

They learned he walked to Arcade Park where he abandoned his shoes. They were found a month later, weathered, he said.

A prosecutor showed the shoes to the jury. They were also shown maps that retraced Hawthorne’s path that night. The park, they said, was the opposite direction of his apartment after he left Vaughan’s apartment.

Prosecutors from the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in Spartanburg are handling the trial because prosecutors in York County knew Vaughan from years of work on criminal investigations.

Testimony will resume in the trial on Wednesday morning.

This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM.