State v. Pendergrass

Ness, Justice.

Appellant was found güilty of murder committed while in the course of an armed robbery at Hermie’s Restaurant in Hartsville, where the victim, a high school girl, was employed. We affirm.

Appellant first assigns error to the trial court’s denial of his motion for continuance, which he asserts denied him effective assistance of counsel. The basis for the motion was the heavy caseload of the public defender, the notoriety of the instant case, and the fact that the public defender’s investigator suffered a heart attack just prior to trial.

This Court will rarely disturb a trial…