Suspect in Teen’s Disappearance Waives Bond Hearing

Columbia, SC (WOLO)– Freddie Grant, the lone suspect in the Gabbiee Swainson kidnapping case, was a no-show at a bond hearing Friday, waiving his right to appear to answer to that charge. Richland County authorities have been building a kidnapping case against the 53-year-old since Swainson disappeared in August but were not able to formally charge Grant until now. A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department says Grant waived his right to a bond hearing this afternoon and was returned to the Lexington Co. Detention Center, where he is being held awaiting sentencing on a federal ammunition conviction. In January, Grant was convicted of being a felon in possession of ammunition. He will be sentenced in that case in April. Prosecutors have not set a date for his trial on the kidnapping charge. Gabrielle Swainson was 15 years old when her mother reported her missing August 18th from their Northeast Richland County home.