Suspect is second former custody officer tied to incident at Wellpath Recovery Solutions facility
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Investigators with South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have charged a second former custody officer with abuse of a vulnerable adult following an investigation of an incident at Wellpath Recovery Solutions in Columbia.
Javin Lashaun Carter-Wicks, 23, was charged on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, in connection to an incident that occurred at the Farrow Road facility on June 18, 2025. Wellpath Recovery Solutions is a contracted provider for the Department of Behavioral Health and Departmental Disabilities Office of Mental Health.
According to the arrest warrant, Carter-Wicks allegedly hit the victim with a shield, causing the victim to hit a wall. The victim is a patient at Wellpath and considered to be a vulnerable adult.
SLED had earlier charged Gregory Marcel Higgins, 44, with abuse of a vulnerable adult on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, in connection with this case. The warrant for Higgins was states that Higgins “did place the victim in a choke hold and walked him down a hallway.”
SLED said the allegations against both men were corroborated through interviews, surveillance videos and information provided to the agency.
Cater-Hicks and Higgins were booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County. Carter-Hicks received a $20,000 personal recognizance bond, Higgins received a $25,000 personal recognizance bond, according to the Richland County Fifth Judicial Circuit Public Index.