(Walhalla, SC)-------------------------------------Oconee County Sheriff Mike Crenshaw is announcing this evening that an Arkansas man, who was named as a person of interest today in an incident that occurred yesterday evening at the Oconee Nuclear Station, has been arrested and charged in the incident.
According to Sheriff Crenshaw, 66 year old Doyle Wayne Whisenhunt, of Lockesburg, AR, was taken in custody earlier this evening, at an abandoned home, in Pickens County by the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office. Custody was then transferred to the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office and Whisenhunt was transported to the Oconee County Detention Center and booked into jail.
Whisenhunt has been charged with one count each of Attempted Murder, Malicious Injury to Personal Property, and Unlawful Entry into an Enclosed Place in regards to last night’s incident at the Nuclear Station.
According to an arrest warrant, Whisenhunt accelerated his vehicle, a silver 2002 Toyota Camry, towards a Security Officer of Duke Energy, while on the grounds of the Nuclear Station, in an attempt to cause great bodily harm or death. The Camry was recovered this afternoon in Pickens County.
Also according to the arrest warrants, Whisenhunt caused damage to the gates and fencing, outside of the secured area of the facility, by striking them with his vehicle. Whisenhunt also trespassed onto the property of the Nuclear Station without authorization, according to the charges filed.
Whisenhunt was also charged in a separate incident with one count of Hit and Run as Whisenhunt, while driving his vehicle, was involved in a motor vehicle accident and failed to remain on the scene. The accident occurred yesterday on Rochester Highway. The other vehicle involved was not a Duke Energy vehicle.
Due to safety and privacy concerns, Whisenhunt’s home address in Arkansas, or the address in Pickens County where he was taken into custody, is not being released by the Sheriff’s Office.
The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. The Sheriff’s Office would like to thank our law enforcement partners with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for their assistance and help in our investigation.