Man who allegedly menaced SC Rep. Seth Rose led double life: stalker, state worker

On Thursday, Dewayne Simmons had a solid job as a manager with the S.C. Department of Health making $79,791 a year.

On Friday, Simmons, 57, of Blythewood, was sitting in a metal cage in the Alvin S. Glenn county jail bond court charged by the S.C. Law Enforcement Division with threatening the life of a public official — popular Columbia attorney and Democratic state Rep. Seth Rose.

If allegations in a SLED arrest warrant are true, Simmons led a double life.

By day, Simmons worked his job and pulled down nearly $80,000 a year in a state where the average income is about $39,000, according to the U.S. Census.

Outside work, however, he was stalking Rose and his family, learning their routines and writing threatening letters to Rose at his office address, letters that “contained intimate details about the victim’s everyday life, places of employment, and children’s school,” according to a warrant.

SLED agents arrested Simmons at his home Thursday evening, searched his house and seized all the weapons he had at the home, an agent said at his bond hearing.

Friday’s hearing

Friday afternoon, Simmons declined having a court-appointed lawyer, then listened as Richland County Magistrate Latonya Derrick read the charges contained in a narrative of the details of his alleged crime: threatening the life of a public official by using the U.S. mail. He faces a maximum prison term of five years.

At the hearing, Derrick identified the “victim” in SLED’s warrant as Rose.

Specifically, one of Simmons’ letters “contained language that referred to potential vantage points near the victim’s employment and the use of a ‘silencer’,” Derrick read. Another told Rose his “loved ones were reachable.”

Simmons stood listening and expressionless to the proceedings. He was confined to a metal cage in a small windowless court room where the walls are cinder blocks painted white.

According to his jail information, Simmons weighs 230 pounds and stands 6-2. In person, he looks very fit, even athletic. He wore light-colored shorts and a black T-shirt with the words Colorado Buffaloes, the name of the sports teams at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He is bald, wears spectacles and has a short salt-and-pepper beard.

He stood silently as U.S. Postal Inspector Mike Rogers told the magistrate that Simmons and his wife had been cooperative when interviewed Thursday.

“There is a very good chance this case can be adopted by federal prosecutors,” said Rogers, who was accompanied by SLED Capt. Haley Nelson. Nelson is captain in a SLED unit that provides psychological profiling and threat assessments.

Rogers also told the judge that investigators are looking into a 2024 case that Simmons may be involved in. There is a possibility of more state charges being brought against him, Rogers said. He gave no details.

If Simmons is to be released, Rogers and Nelson recommended the magistrate set conditions of no weapons, surrendering his passport, wearing an ankle monitor and staying well away from Rose and his family.

“This is still an ongoing investigation,” Nelson stressed.

Simmons blames ‘misplaced rage’

Then it was Simmons’ turn to speak.

“I’m really apologetic to Seth Rose and his family,” Simmons said. “It’s just misplaced rage, your honor. I am going to do what my wife said, your honor, and seek counseling.”

The magistrate set a bond of $75,000.

As the agents wanted, the magistrate set conditions of no contact with Rose and his family, no firearms or any deadly weapons, surrender his passport and wear a GPS ankle monitor.

Nelson told the magistrate, “We feel confident we seized all the firearms in the (Simmons’) house.”

Simmons agreed to turn his passport over U.S. Postal investigators.

Motive a secret

Investigators have not divulged a possible motive for Simmons’ alleged actions. They did not even hint at a motive during Friday’s hearing.

Simmons’ life won’t be normal for a while.

The S.C. Department of Public Health, where Simmons worked, issued this statement: “DPH does not comment on personnel matters; however, at present the employee is on unpaid administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation.”

Life will be different for Rose as well.

On Friday afternoon, he walked outside, for the first time in months without wondering if a person was somewhere out there bent on harm.

“This really crossed the line when someone was threatening my children,” Rose said.

Again, he thanked law enforcement — SLED, the U.S. Postal Service and the Columbia police department — for watching over him and his family in a caring and professional way while the investigation continued.

“I’m kind of at a loss for words. I can’t say enough about the job law enforcement did and the people they are,” Rose said.

This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Man who allegedly menaced SC Rep. Seth Rose led double life: stalker, state worker."