COLUMBIA (WACH) - The suspect in the case of a missing Columbia teen will be in court Friday morning to ask for a gag order against Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott.
The 52-year-old Freddie Grant will appear at the hearing, which was originally scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 2:30 p.m, at 9:30 a.m. Friday. Judge Deandrea G. Benjamin will handle the proceedings.
A motion to impose a gag order on Sheriff Leon Lott was filed on August 30.
The motion addresses the three press conferences held by Lott, who has also appeared on the national television show "Nancy Grace" at least twice to discuss details on the case against Grant and the search for 15-year-old Gabrielle Swainson.
Grant's attorneys hope to keep Lott from discussing the case publicly.
In one of the press conferences, Lott addressed the gag order.
"His lawyer sent us a letter saying don't talk to [Grant], so we can't talk to him," said Lott. "We can't even ask [Grant] what time of day it is, so there has been nothing from [Grant] whatsoever."
The motion says Lott is "feeding the media frenzy surrounding the disappearance" of Gabbiee Swainson by referring to Grant as a "monster" and an "overall bad guy."
The search continues for Gabbiee Swainson who went missing in the early hours of August 18.
Anyone with information on the case should contact CrimeStoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC.
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