SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL (on-line version)
http://www.GoUpstate.com/
Spartanburg, South Carolina

November 02, 1994

Blacksburg Police Charge Three Juveniles with Vandalizing School.

BLACKSBURG - Police signed petitions Tuesday in juvenile court charging three teen-age boys with breaking into and vandalizing Blacksburg Elementary School the night before.
The three, ages 14, 15 and 16, are charged with second-degree burglary, vandalism to school property and three counts of petty larceny.
The juveniles took fire extinguishers from school buses in the parking lot, broke into Blacksburg Elementary and released the fire extinguishers in the hallways and a classroom.
School officials said they did a lot of dusting but are hopeful there was no major damage. Police Chief Wayne Elder said some electronic equipment at the school is being checked for permanent damage from the fire extinguisher chemicals. Officer Dana Allen took one of the suspects into custody Monday night, and police identified the other two and charged them Tuesday, Elder said.

SPARTANBURG HERALD-JOURNAL (on-line version)
http://www.GoUpstate.com/
Spartanburg, South Carolina

March 09, 1994

Couple May be Charged in Murder

By Janet S. Spencer

GAFFNEY - A Gaffney [NOTE: should be "Blacksburg"] couple held for questioning in the death of a man whose body was found buried in Blacksburg on Friday may face murder charges as early as today.
Sheriff Bill Blanton said the body of a man believed to be from Syracuse, N.Y., is expected to be identified today. He said charges against Benny Joseph Gaston and Josie N. Miranda may follow.
Police in New York alerted local authorities about the man's disappearance, and deputies have been watching Gaston for several months, Blanton said.
Gaston, 35, and Miranda, 34, both of 503 N. Mountain St., were denied bond Monday afternoon by Magistrate Jim Holland after Blanton recommended they be kept in jail.
Gaston disputed the police allegations at his bond hearing. "I think the police are unfair. I don't know which ones to trust. . . . (The) charges make me look bad, but I'm a good person," he said. "I've got a good heart. I believe in God, and God will read my heart." Gaston and Miranda appeared in court on charges unrelated to the body discovered in a shallow grave on East Jones Street.
Gaston was taken into custody Friday afternoon on an assault warrant signed by Blacksburg Police Chief Wayne Elder. The complaint against Gaston was filed by Miranda, his common-law wife. Miranda was jailed late Friday night and is being held as a material witness after she told police where a body might be buried. Police exhumed the body Friday night.
Both Gaston and Miranda were charged with violating the law against felons in possession of firearms after several guns were taken from their residence Friday. They are also on probation in Cherokee County on grand larceny convictions.
Blanton said receipts at the residence showed that Gaston rented a car in Syracuse on Sept. 7 and returned it to Charlotte on Sept. 13. The person police believe is the dead man was last seen in Syracuse with Gaston on Sept. 9. "We think Gaston rented the car and brought the body here in the trunk and buried it," Blanton said.
Detective John O'Donald said that New York authorities told him that if Miranda returns to the Bronx, where she is from, it would be hard to find her for questioning.
Blanton said Miranda has a lengthy record and 14 aliases. Miranda told Holland she has been convicted of shoplifting, grand larceny, prostitution and credit card fraud. A self-employed house painter, Gaston lives in a house he inherited when an aunt died. He and Miranda have lived in Blacksburg for almost two years.