SC Democratic candidate spent day in York jail over fines from traffic stop
South Carolina Democratic Statehouse candidate Justin Bennett went to the courthouse in York County Friday hoping to get an extension to pay fines for three traffic tickets after failing to meet the deadline a few days before.
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Instead, the 39-year-old cook at a Rock Hill restaurant hoping to unseat veteran Republican State Rep. Tommy Pope spent about 10 hours in the county jail Friday after a magistrate judge held him in contempt for failing to pay his fines. A jury previously found Bennett guilty.
Bennett won the June 9 Democratic primary for the S.C. House 47 District seat that represents York and Clover. He said in an interview with The Herald that he believes he was pulled over by a York County Sheriff’s Office deputy in February because he was a Democratic candidate running for public office.
Bennett did not cite any evidence for that claim.
The case was handled by a sheriff’s office prosecutor, who on Tuesday in an interview denied Bennett’s claim that politics led to the traffic stop, saying it was solely about Bennett breaking the law.
A jury in York/Bethesda Magistrate Court convicted him May 22 on three charges: failing to maintain proof of insurance, operating an unregistered vehicle and use of a license plate on a vehicle other than the car it was issued for.
Magistrate Judge John Charles “Jay” Dover gave him 30 days to pay all the fines after the trial.
On Friday, more than 30 days later, Bennett paid $232.50 in fines.
He said he told the magistrate on Friday that he didn’t have the $465 he still owed for two of the tickets.
Dover found Bennett in contempt Friday after a short hearing because Bennett had not paid the remaining fines, court records show. Dover ordered him to spend the day in jail for contempt but be released that night in time to go to work the next day.
Bennett said Dover made it clear he didn’t want him to lose his job, but “he put me in jail.”
During his time in jail in York on Friday, Bennett declined the lunch offering of a hot dog and beans and gave it to others. But he did eat some of the dinner: beef and macaroni, cornbread and cake because he was hungry, he said.
A deputy pulled Bennett over Feb. 21 on Old York Road. According to a sheriff’s office incident report, Bennett admitted that the plate was registered to another car and admitted to the insurance violation. His car was towed. He said his driver’s license was then suspended.
“I’m not disputing the legitimacy of the charges, I’m disputing the reason I was pulled over,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the traffic stop came on the day he went to a meeting about running for office.
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He made a similar claim of politics concerning the stop on April 24 in a posting on his Facebook campaign page, and in a TikTok video.
In an interview with The Herald at the Moss Justice Center on Tuesday, both Gary Apfel, a prosecutor for the sheriff’s office, and office spokesman Trent Faris denied there was any political reason for the traffic stop.
Faris said deputies are trained to know that stops cannot be political.
York County Sheriff Tony Breeden is a Republican.
Apfel prosecuted Bennett in court at the May 22 trial.
“He was pulled over because he committed a criminal offense,” Apfel said of Bennett. “He was pulled over because he had expired tags and the license plate belonged to a different vehicle.”
The deputy testified during the trial that Bennett was pulled over because of the traffic violations, Apfel said. More, the deputy testified under cross-examination from Bennett that Bennett was not targeted for any political affiliation, Apfel said.
The six-member jury convicted Bennett in minutes, Apfel said.
The day in jail is considered time served instead of paying one of the tickets, but Bennett still owes $232.50, according to Apfel and court records obtained by The Herald.
If Bennett does not pay the remaining $232.50 in 30 days from Friday, he could face more sanctions, including going back to jail.
“If he does not comply, the court will order another hearing,” Apfel said.
Bennett said he planned to appeal the May jury verdict but did not meet the 10-day time requirement to do so. He can’t appeal the case now. He did not hire a lawyer for the May trial and represented himself.
He said money problems were the reason he was in the situation with the car in the first place and money was the reason he could not pay his fines on time. He said — in this economy — many people can relate to not having money, and that he has put much of his time and what money he has into the political race.
Bennett faces Pope in November’s general election. Pope, a lawyer, has been in office for 16 years and is the second-highest ranking Republican in the state House of Representatives. He was York County’s top prosecutor for almost 15 years before that when he became a nationally-known name for prosecuting Susan Smith for killing her sons.
Bennett said Tuesday he will continue to campaign for the seat, including making TikTok videos. And more, he is running with one goal.
“I plan to win,” Bennett said.
But first, the has to pay that remaining $232.50 or possibly face more jail cornbread and beans before Election Day.
This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 5:00 AM with the headline “SC Democratic candidate spent day in York jail over fines from traffic stop.”
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