Local Heroes Honored For Saving Deputy

Two men were recently recognized for the life-saving assistance they gave a Pickens County Sheriff's Deputy.

On Sept. 12, 2012, Master Deputy Scott Ticknor spotted Trenton Black at a gas station on Highway 178 between Pickens and Liberty.

Ticknor knew that Black's motorcycle was stolen and that the man had several warrants out on him out of Easley.

“I'd dealt with him in the past, for about 12 to 15 years I've been dealing with him,” Ticknor said. “I had chased him several weeks previously.

Ticknor called dispatch and said he would apprehend Black, “because that's what I do,” he said.

He went outside and confronted Black.

“Usually, he doesn't give me any trouble,” Ticknor said. “This time he was hyped up on something. Next thing I know, he hits on the side of the head with the gas pump nozzle.”

A struggle began.

“Next thing I know, he had a pistol to the back of my head,” Ticknor said. “I don't know where he got his pistol from. He told me if I didn't let him go, he was going to kill me.”

Ticknor grabbed the gun, which went off at the side of his head.

“We wrestled,” Ticknor said. “For the next minute or so, I kept holding on to that pistol as hard as I could.”

Black bit Ticknor and struck him in the head with his bike helmet and bare fists, “trying to get me off of him,” Ticknor said.

“I finally got the pistol loose before the second round went off,” Ticknor said, adding that the second shot went off at the other side of his head. “I finally got the pistol loose.”

Bobby Lee Lawes was at the gas station and said that he didn't realize what was going on at first.

Then Ticknor shouted out that he was an officer, and the shots were fired.

“I went to help the officer,” Lawes said. “I took the gun from him.”

“He got the pistol out of the scene real quick,” Ticknor said.

Ticknor then attempted to handcuff Black.

David Bryan Owens, who was driving a gasoline truck, heard the shot.

“I thought it was a firecracker at first,” Owens said. “I jumped out of my truck and was going to go get on somebody, because I'm a gas hog – no firecrackers. That's when I realized they were 10 feet from the back of my tanker, with a gun out, which was even worse. I saw the gun up in the air, heard the second shot.”

When he realized Ticknor was a deputy, he came over to help him deal with Black.

“I got him on the ground,” Owens said.

“He was able to choke him out while I got the handcuffs on him,” Ticknor said. “Those guys showed up right on time and it really worked out well.”

“Luckily, it ended good,” Owens said.

Lawes said he “just reacted.”

“I just hope and pray somebody would do the same thing for me,” Lawes said. “It's just being in the right place at the right time.”

Black was charged with numerous crimes, including attempted murder, resisting arrest and possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime.

During a special luncheon Wednesday afternoon, Sheriff C. David Stone and the Pickens County Sheriff's Office honored Lawes and Owens for their actions.

The two men were presented with plaques recognizing their heroism.

Stone said the actions taken by Lawes and Owens “took courage and respect for law enforcement.”

“If we had more people in this country and in Pickens County willing to do what they did … this country and Pickens County would be a better place,” Stone said. “It's something you rarely see.”

Many people would have “turned their backs and carried on with what they were doing,” Stone said.

“We want to show our appreciation for helping an officer that was in trouble,” he said. “We can't say enough for this individuals who are willing to serve as such good citizens in Pickens County. Law enforcement people in Pickens County really appreciate what you did.”

Before, during and after the luncheon, Sheriff's Office employees personally thanked Lawes and Owens for their help.