The family of a North Carolina man shot and killed earlier this month in the Longs area is questioning the investigation, including why police haven’t acquired cellphones that may contain evidence to the two men allegedly involved.

Family members of Scott Spivey and two Horry County Council members met with police investigators Sept. 26 to receive information on what might have led to the death of Spivey, 33, of Tabor City. Horry County Police and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are investigating the case.

During that meeting, attendees were told that police no longer have the phones and that they were being kept by the two men’s attorneys, according to multiple sources familiar with the meeting who were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the investigation.

Police are trying to get access to the phones to retrieve information – one which is not located in Horry County, the sources said.

The cellphones, according to the sources, contained such information as photos and video taken the night of the shooting. The photos also allegedly showed bullet holes that riddled Scott Spivey’s truck and in the windshield of the alleged shooter.

Weldon Boyd, who operates Buoys on the Boulevard along South Ocean Boulevard in North Myrtle Beach, has been named as an alleged shooter in the fatal incident, according to the Solicitor’s Office. There was a second person inside Boyd’s truck that day, but that person’s name has not been released.

Police declined to release Boyd’s name for nearly a week after the shooting until it was released by 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson in a letter to the state Attorney General’s Office.

It’s been three weeks since the shooting and no arrests or charges have been made. Boyd has not been charged with any crime. Boyd has repeatedly declined to comment and multiple calls and messages left for his attorney have not been returned.

Family of the deceased also found out that after Spivey was killed, police kept him in his vehicle while it was towed on a flatbed truck to the police station. The vehicle was removed because investigators were afraid it was going to rain, the sources said. Police said this was protocol.

Horry County Council member Danny Hardee said Thursday that he had attended the meeting with family and police at the request of some family members who live in his district. Hardee said there have been questions and rumors surrounding the case, including comments on social media by “900 internet detectives” who are trying to solve the case.

A message left for council member Mark Causey, whose district includes where the shooting occurred, was not immediately returned.

Horry County Police Spokesperson Mikayla Moskov confirmed by phone Thursday that police met with the family. She would not say who was at the meeting, including which elected officials may have been present. Moskov said she could not comment about any evidence and that the case is an active investigation.

There appear to be at least five 911 tapes from Weldon Boyd and witnesses to the shooting. The Sun News was denied a Freedom of Information Act request for the tapes by Horry County.

Moskov also was asked specifically in an email Thursday and Friday about the details of the 911 tapes, the protocol for leaving Spivey’s body in his vehicle while being transported and the returning of cell phones. Moskov did not immediately respond regarding the questions.

SLED was asked to join the case by Horry County Police, according to Moskov by text. The Solicitor’s Office asked the Attorney General’s Office to review the case so there wouldn’t be any issues of impropriety, according to Richardson.

Police investigators informed family that SLED is planning to send the investigation to the state Attorney General’s Office to decide if charges should be filed.

Renee Wunderlich, spokesperson for SLED, was asked Thursday about the cell phones but did not have immediate information. She said that she would check about the information regarding the case.

Jennifer Spivey Foley, Spivey’s sister, had said previously that the family has questions about the investigation that they are trying to get answered.

“I want the truth to come out,” Foley said. “I want justice for my brother.”

The family declined to release information about the investigation.

State Attorney General asked to review case

The Solicitor’s Office has asked the state Attorney General’s Office for a review of the case.

15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson named Boyd in a letter that he sent to the state Attorney General’s Office Sept. 15 asking for a review of the case after Horry County Police are finished with their investigation.

Richardson said because Boyd posted on Facebook a statement thanking police and the Solicitor’s Office for their hard work, he asked for the review so that there wouldn’t be any issues of impropriety.

Richardson said Thursday that he was not at the meeting with family and has recused himself from the case.

It appears the men didn’t know each other before shooting

Spivey didn’t know Boyd before the deadly exchange of gunfire on Camp Swamp Road, according to Spivey’s family.

Based on the family’s personal investigation, the two men had never met prior to the shooting, and investigators believe that a road rage incident may have started the sequence of events.

Spivey had been to a North Myrtle Beach restaurant before heading home that Saturday night. The family believes Spivey was on his way home because Camp Swamp Road is used as a shortcut for him to cross over into North Carolina.

The first interaction between Spivey and Boyd may have occurred in the area of S.C. 9 and S.C. 57. From Tabor City, it’s about a 25- to 30-minute drive to the intersection of the highways, the family said.

The two men traveled S.C. 9 before turning onto Camp Swamp Road. The distance from the intersection to Camp Swamp Road is 9.9 miles.

A timestamp from a business’ camera along Highway 9 shows the two vehicles passing in front of the store about 5:55 p.m. The business is located just a short distance from Camp Swamp Road.

Multiple witnesses and vehicles in the area at time of shooting

A police report said that there were multiple vehicles driving in the area before police could secure the shooting scene.

“I taped off as much as I could to help stop cars from contaminating the scene,” an officer wrote in the report. “I took pictures of the scene before EMS had arrived to attempt to preserve the scene before CSI had arrived.”

Police were dispatched to the scene at 6:04 p.m., but the shooting occurred at 5:50 p.m., according to the report.

A police report said that Spivey, who died at the scene, initiated the shooting.

The report showed that two other people were involved in the shooting that killed Spivey. It is not clear who fired their weapons and when.

However, Spivey is listed on the report as a “suspect,” while the other two people involved, including the shooter, are listed as “victims.”

Based on the police report, it appears that Spivey’s vehicle was in front of another vehicle when the shooting occurred at the intersection of Camp Swamp Road and S.C. 9.

A driver of a white Dodge TRX truck told police that “the guy in the black truck jumped out and started shooting at us and I shot back. I think he’s dead.”

The driver said he still had his pistol on him. The officer retrieved it out of his holster, the report said. The passenger of the white truck stated his firearm was on the passenger seat, and the officer also retrieved it.

The driver’s side front door in the Black Chevy pickup was open and the driver was hunched over the center console of the truck, with his right arm hanging over the console into the rear passenger area, the report said. He had no movement. A black handgun with the slide locked back was just under his hand, the report said.

The police report did not say what led to the shooting.

The report says that there were multiple witnesses.