US, NIGEL AND SYDNEY ARE UP NEXT. WYFF NEWS FOUR AT SIX STARTS RIGHT NOW. SPARTANBURG COUNTY SHERIFF CHUCK WRIGHT IS TAKING AN INDEFINITE LEAVE OF ABSENCE, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. I’M RENEE ARENA WITH WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR AT THE PRICES GO UP, PARTS PRICES GO UP. THE CUSTOMERS HAVE TO PAY MORE. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ANNOUNCING NEW TARIFFS TODAY. HOW THEY COULD IMPACT YOU FROM THE DEALERSHIP TO YOUR LOCAL MECHANIC. DRIZZLE HERE AT HOME WITH STORMS BACK TO THE WEST. COMING UP, I’LL SHOW YOU OUR MAJOR CHANGE TO THE TEMPERATURES AHEAD. WE BEGIN WITH BREAKING NEWS. SPARTANBURG COUNTY SHERIFF CHUCK WRIGHT HAS TAKEN A LEAVE OF ABSENCE, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY. HOWEVER, THE DETAILS SURROUNDING HIS LEAVE REMAIN UNCLEAR. REY LLERENA JOINS US LIVE IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY WITH WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR. RAY. SYDNEY. NIGEL. AUTHORITY OVER THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE HAS BEEN TRANSFERRED TO CHIEF DEPUTY BILLY PARRIS. ACCORDING TO COUNTY OFFICIALS WHO SAY THEY WERE FIRST MADE AWARE OF THE SHERIFF’S INTENTION OF GOING ON LEAVE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. WE REACHED OUT TO THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE TODAY FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SHERIFF CHUCK WRIGHT’S LEAVE OF ABSENCE. A SHERIFF’S OFFICE SPOKESPERSON TOLD ME THEY ARE NOT PROVIDING ANY INTERVIEWS OR STATEMENTS AT THIS TIME. SPARTANBURG COUNTY COUNCIL VICE CHAIR DAVID BRITT SAYS THE COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR TOLD HIM THAT WRIGHT WAS GOING ON LEAVE FOR A MEDICAL CONDITION THAT REQUIRED PROTRACTED TREATMENT. GREENVILLE COUNTY SHERIFF HOBART LEWIS TOLD WYFF NEWS FOUR EARLIER TODAY, QUOTE, WE ARE HERE FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE IN ANY WAY. WE ARE PRAYING FOR THE SHERIFF, WRIGHT AND HIS FAMILY AND LOOK FORWARD TO HIM BEING HEALTHY AGAIN. WE’RE HERE TO HELP IN ANY WAY POSSIBLE. MEANWHILE, SPARTANBURG COUNTY LEADERS SAY IN PART, QUOTE, SPARTANBURG COUNTY RESIDENTS CAN REST ASSURED THAT OUR SHERIFF’S OFFICE WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE AS USUAL, PROVIDING QUALITY SERVICE TO OUR CITIZENS. IT’S NOT YET CLEAR WHEN SHERIFF WRIGHT WILL RETURN TO OFFICE. AS SOON AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS DEVELOPING SITUATION, WE’LL BE SURE TO LET YOU KNOW. REPORTING LIVE IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY. REY LLERENA WYFF NEWS FOUR. GREAT. THANK YOU. SHERIFF WRIGHT HAS BEEN WITH THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE FOR DECADES. AARON BAKER TOOK A LOOK BACK AT HIS CAREER AND SOME OF THE HIGH PROFILE MOMENTS DURING HIS TIME AS SHERIFF. CHUCK WRIGHT IS A SPARTANBURG COUNTY NATIVE. HE BECAME A SHERIFF’S DEPUTY IN 1986 AND WAS ELECTED SHERIFF IN 2004. HE’S CURRENTLY SERVING HIS SIXTH TERM. WE WANT THESE PEOPLE THAT ARE ON DRUGS TO FIND GOD AND TO GET OFF OF THAT STUFF AND LIVE A BETTER LIFE. YOU KNOW, MAYBE WE CAN HELP THEM DO THAT. WRIGHT HAS LED SEVERAL HIGH PROFILE CASES AND INITIATIVES IN 21 YEARS AS SHERIFF, INCLUDING OPERATION ROLLING THUNDER, TARGETED AT SEIZING ILLEGAL DRUGS AND WEAPONS. THIS IS A NASTY WEAPON, AND WE DON’T WANT THAT USED FOR NOTHING BUT WHAT’S RIGHT. A CASE THAT RECEIVED NATIONAL ATTENTION WHEN TODD KOHLHEPP WAS ARRESTED FOR KIDNAPING KAYLA BROWN. THAT ARREST LED TO KOHLHEPP’S CONFESSION TO SEVERAL KILLINGS. IF HE’S GOT MORE VICTIMS, I PROMISE YOU THERE IS NO LIMITS TO WHAT WE WON’T DO WITHIN THE LAW. IN 2022, TRAGEDY IN SPARTANBURG COUNTY, DEPUTY AUSTIN ALDRIDGE WAS SHOT AND KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY WHILE RESPONDING TO A DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CALL. IF I COULD HIRE 100 MORE JUST LIKE HIM, I’D DO IT RIGHT NOW. HE WAS. HE HAD A GOOD SENSE OF HUMOR, HAD A GREAT WORK ETHIC. LAST YEAR, WHILE VISITING WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND THE AFTERMATH OF HURRICANE HELENE, SHERIFF WRIGHT DISCUSSED WHAT HE CALLED ALARMING THREATS DIRECTED AT FEMA. THE COMMENTS RECEIVED PUSHBACK, AND SHERIFF WRIGHT SHARED THIS MESSAGE IN THE AFTERMATH. LOOK, I’M NOT GOING TO BACK UP AND MAKE NO APOLOGIES FOR ANYTHING I SAID. I WANT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHOEVER’S IN CHARGE, WHETHER IT’S DEMOCRAT, REPUBLICAN OR WHO CARES? I JUST WANT THEM TO BE FOR THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. AARON BAKER WIFE. NEWS FOUR. AND AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT SHERIFF CHUCK WRIGHT’S LEAVE OF ABSENCE FROM THE SPARTANBURG COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE. WE’LL BRING YOU UPDATES ON AIR AND ON WYFF4.COM. TURNING TO OUR FORECAST NOW, THIS IS A LIVE LOOK FROM OUR LAKE HARTWELL SKYCAM A DREARY DAY, AND TODAY IS A LIVE SUPER DOPPLER FOUR IMPACT DAY. CHIEF METEOROLOGIST CHRIS JUSTUS JOINS US WITH THE AREA’S CERTIFIED MOST ACCURATE FORECAST. CHRIS. TEMPS IN THE 80S ON THE WAY. YEAH, WE GOT TO SHED THIS NORTHERLY WIND FIRST. THAT’S BEEN SO KIND OF ANNOYING TODAY. JUST PUTTING IT, FRANK. IT’S BEEN SO DRIZZLY. KIND OF CLOUDY AND DAMP OUT WHILE SOUTHERN PARTS OF THE UPSTATE, AS WE EXPECTED, SAW THE SUNSHINE AND WARMED UP CLOSE TO 80 DEGREES. OH, BUT A DIFFERENT STORY. BACK TOWARD THE WEST, A SEVERE WEATHER OUTBREAK, INCLUDING TORNADOES. TONIGHT, LOTS OF WARNINGS AND ALERTS BACK TOWARD THE WEST. THIS AREA, UNDER A LEVEL FIVE OUT OF A FIVE RISK FOR SEVERE WEATHER TONIGHT THAT INCLUDES TORNADOES IN THIS AREA. AND NOT ONLY THAT, BUT LONG TRACK, LARGE, VIOLENT EF2 OR GREATER TORNADOES IN THAT AREA. FOR US HERE AT HOME, WE’VE GOT THE CLOUDS IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE UPSTATE. BUT LOOK AT THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE UPSTATE. ACTUALLY, A LITTLE BIT OF CLEAR SKY THAT’S MADE A MAJOR TEMPERATURE DIFFERENCE ACROSS THE AREA. SO HERE ARE THE STATS IN GREENVILLE. IT’S TRYING TO COME OUT 61 DEGREES NORTH AND NORTHEAST WINDS. THAT’S ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD WHERE THE SOUTHERLY WINDS IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF THE UPSTATE WARM YOU UP TO CLOSE TO 79 DEGREES. THERE’S NEARLY A 20 DEGREE DIFFERENCE. IF YOU WERE TO DRIVE UP THROUGH 85 FROM SOUTHERN LAURENS COUNTY TO GREENVILLE COUNTY, ABOUT AN HOUR’S DRIVE, ABOUT A 20 DEGREE DIFFERENCE IN TEMPERATURES OVER THE NEXT 12 HOURS, WE’LL ACTUALLY WARM UP IN SOME LOCATIONS TO THE UPPER 60S AS THAT WARMING TREND COMES OUR WAY. THAT PUSHES US CLOSE TO 90 IN MANY COMMUNITIES. HOW LONG IT LASTS. COMING UP, MORE PROGRESS TODAY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST THE CAROLINA WILDFIRES IN SOUTH CAROLINA. THE TABLE ROCK FIRE IS MORE THAN 13,000 ACRES. IT IS NOW 68% CONTAINED. THE PERSIMMON RIDGE FIRE IS MORE THAN 2000 ACRES AND 74% CONTAINED. OFFICIALS SAY THE REMAINING BURN BANS IN SEVERAL SOUTH CAROLINA COUNTIES HAVE BEEN LIFTED TO NORTH CAROLINA. NOW, THE FIRES IN POLK COUNTY ARE GETTING CLOSER TO CONTAINMENT. OFFICIALS SAY THE BLACK COVE FIRE IS ABOUT 3500 ACRES AND 97% CONTAINED. THE DEEP WOODS FIRE IS NEARLY 4000 ACRES AND IS 63% CONTAINED. AND THE FISHHOOK FIRE REMAINS AT 100% CONTAINED. A SPARTANBURG COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER IS FACING ASSAULT AND BATTERY CHARGES. THAT IS ACCORDING TO AN ARREST WARRANT. THE WARRANT SAYS. AN INTENTIONALLY COMMITTED BATTERY ON THE VICTIM BY PHYSICALLY OVERPOWERING HIM, STRIKING HIM WITH A TRASH CAN, KNOCKING HIM TO THE GROUND AND PUSHING HIM INTO A CAR. WE’RE TOLD THE INCIDENT HAPPENED AFTER A STAFF DROVE TO THE VICTIM’S PROPERTY TO AVOID A DOWNED TREE. A SUSPECT WAS ARRESTED WEDNESDAY. A MAN HAS BEEN ARRESTED AFTER AUTHORITIES SAY HE VANDALIZED SEVERAL LOCATIONS WITH GRAFFITI IN THE TOWN OF DUNCAN. POLICE SAY JORDAN FIZER IS CHARGED WITH EIGHT COUNTS OF ILLEGAL GRAFFITI. LAST WEEK, POLICE SAY SEVERAL LOCATIONS WERE VANDALIZED AND IT APPEARS TO BE THE SAME GRAFFITI THAT HAD BEEN USED THROUGHOUT SPARTANBURG COUNTY OVER THE SPAN OF A FEW MONTHS AFTER THE INVESTIGATION, FIZER WAS ARRESTED. THIS AFTERNOON, PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP ANNOUNCED NEW TARIFFS SET TO GO INTO EFFECT ON APRIL 5TH. THE PRESIDENT DECLARED A NATIONAL ECONOMIC EMERGENCY AND ANNOUNCED GLOBAL TARIFFS AT AT LEAST 10%, WITH HIGHER RATES FOR SOME COUNTRIES. THE PRESIDENT SAYS FACTORY JOBS WILL RETURN BACK TO THE U.S. AS A RESULT OF THE TAXES. BUT ECONOMISTS SAY HIS POLICIES COULD RAISE PRICES ON AMERICANS AND RISK AN ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN. OUR COUNTRY AND ITS TAXPAYERS HAVE BEEN RIPPED OFF FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, BUT IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN ANYMORE. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DAYS, IN MY OPINION, IN AMERICAN HISTORY, AND THE NEW TARIFFS MAY HAVE IMPACTS TO THE LOCAL AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY. OUR PEYTON FURTADO JOINS US NOW LIVE WITH MORE ON THOSE IMPACTS FROM DEALERSHIPS TO THE MECHANIC, PEYTON. ABSOLUTELY, YEAH. NIGEL. SYDNEY. YOU BOTH KNOW HOW MAJOR THE AUTO INDUSTRY IS TO SOUTH CAROLINA. WE’RE A MAJOR HUB NATIONWIDE. WE’RE VERY IMPORTANT. WE’VE GOT BMW, MERCEDES BENZ, VOLVO HERE. AND IF THIS IS GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT, THESE TARIFFS ON THE AUTO MAKER INDUSTRY NATIONWIDE, IT’S DEFINITELY GOING TO HAVE AN IMPACT HERE ON OUR DEALERSHIPS. OUR AUTOMAKERS, OUR MECHANICS, YOU NAME IT. SO EVEN IF YOU DRIVE AN AMERICAN MADE CAR, CHANCES ARE YOU’VE GOT SOME PARTS INSIDE MADE IN ANOTHER COUNTRY AS WELL. NOW, WE SPOKE TO MITCH MADDEN. HE’S OWNED EURO CAR SPECIALISTS FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS NOW. HE SAYS HE’S FOR THE TARIFFS AND THINKS IN THE LONG RUN IT COULD EVEN OUT THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC PLAYING FIELD. BUT IN THE SHORT TERM HE IS UNCERTAIN IF THE PRICES GO MY PARTS PRICES GO UP, THE CUSTOMERS HAVE TO PAY MORE. I FEEL SORRY FOR THEM. I CAN ABSORB WHAT I CAN, BUT MY MY, MY MARGIN IS PRETTY THIN. NOW. MADDEN GETS MOST OF HIS PARTS FROM GERMANY, LIKE OTHER CAR DEALERSHIPS AND MAKERS IN OUR REGION, AND HE TELLS US, UNFORTUNATELY, THE CUSTOMERS WILL NEED TO BE MORE PATIENT AS WELL, ON TOP OF COST. IT MIGHT TAKE A LOT LONGER FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO GET SOME OF THE PARTS FROM SOME OF THOSE NATIONS BECAUSE OF THESE TARIFFS. NOW, OF COURSE, THIS IS ALL UNCERTAIN. HE’S GOING TO BE KEEPING AN EYE ON THAT. AND SO ARE WE. BUT FOR NOW, LIVE I