Source of USCB commotion was a familar face

When Timothy Harris fled from his car during a traffic stop Wednesday and ran into the University of South Carolina Beaufort's performing arts center, causing a lockdown and a police manhunt, he knew exactly where he was going, school officials said.

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Harris is a former university groundskeeper and knew the arts center inside and out -- likely the reason he ran straight for the second floor and hid in the auditorium attic.

"He knows every nook and cranny in this place," said Robert Goodman, a university security officer -- one of two -- stationed at the Beaufort campus.

University staff remembered Harris, 21, as a courteous, intelligent and talented worker who helped maintain the building. He was hired Sept. 5, 2006, as a temporary worker in the facilities and maintenance department and was later promoted to a full-time position, said Deborah Reynolds, university spokesman.

"That what I've heard about him -- that he was just the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet," Reynolds said. "It was quite disappointing."

Conrad Hartz, a receptionist at the arts center, remembered Harris, who worked at the school for a year.

He was "a very, very nice guy. A very good worker. Nice to work with, period. We were all shocked to see that it was him," he said. "If you asked him to help on some odd job, he was always willing."

"Matter of fact, he painted them poles right there," Goodman said, pointing at several black columns flanking the reception desk. "And this wall," he said, pointing behind him.

Harris was driving a 2005 Ford Focus the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office had been searching for since Wednesday morning when a deputy tried to pull him over. Harris ran from the car and into the performing arts center. Armed police officers swept the building, startling students and faculty who were in the middle of afternoon classes. Harris was caught at 7 p.m.

Goodman said he was surprised while sitting in the auditorium last summer to discover Harris was a good musician.

"He just sat down there on stage and started playing the piano," he said. "Oh, man, he could play the piano."

Harris was fired Sept. 6, 2007, after he stopped coming to work. He was arrested Oct. 11 on a cocaine possession charge and awaits trial, according to court records. He was charged Wednesday with disrupting schools, failing to stop for a blue light, driving with a suspended license, second offense, and resisting arrest. He is being held on more than $12,000, according to jail records.

Harris left Beaufort High School in 2004 after completing four years without enough credits to graduate.

Timothy's mother, Lillie Harris, declined to comment Thursday afternoon.

UNIVERSITY RESPONSE The university reminded students Thursday they could see a school counselor if Wednesday's incident upset them, Reynolds said. Coincidentally, the school begins mock incident training in April.

University public safety officials also plan to visit classes involved Wednesday to talk to students and answer questions about their evacuation while police searched for Harris.

Sheriff's Office Capt. Alan Horton recounted the sequence of events: The car Harris was driving was spotted on U.S. 21 and reported to police at 4:34 p.m.

A deputy tried to pull over Harris at 4:42 p.m. on Boundary Street near Carteret Street. Harris did not pull over and drove next to the arts center's rear loading dock off Carteret and ran from the car into the center. Garbade said he was notified in Bluffton at about 4:45, just as other officers came to assist the deputy who grabbed Harris' passenger, Kevin Alston, 25, of St. Helena Island.

A text message from the university -- part of a new incident response system -- was sent to students, faculty and staff at 5:04. The university canceled evening classes while the search was ongoing. By the time police found Harris, it was too late to resume classes, said Henry Garbade, university director of public safety.

The roughly 1,700-student university is small and security in a crisis situation is generally left to local law enforcement agencies, Garbade said. The school covers the Beaufort campus with an officer on a morning shift and one in the evening, he said.

The university posts two officers around the clock at the larger Bluffton campus, which includes student housing. Garbade's nine-person department includes two certified police officers. It has one police cruiser and operates on a yearly budget of less than $150,000, he said. In a crisis situation, his department is designed only to assist local police agencies, he said.

But he hopes to get two more certified officers next year who would likely be placed on the Bluffton campus. But after Wednesday's incident, the university may reconsider, he said. He said the evacuation and search with other police agencies went according to plan.

"That's due in very large part to the response of the sheriff's department," Garbade said. "There have been a couple of occasions where we've had to call them for help, and their response has been immediate."