Judge orders electronic monitoring for tow truck murder suspect | News

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) - A judge has ordered electronic monitoring for a man accused of manslaughter in the shooting death of a tow truck driver in Beaufort County nearly two years ago.

Circuit Judge Cordell Maddox Jr. issued the order Monday after rejecting prosecutors; request that bond be revoked for Preston Oates. He's accused of killing 34-year-old Carlos Olivera in Bluffton on Christmas Eve in 2010.

Prosecutors say Oates violated his bond by traveling out of state. He also was the subject of a criminal libel and slander investigation after a fake dating website profile of Sheriff P.J. Tanner appeared online.

Defense attorneys pointed out the state's criminal libel and slander law has been declared unconstitutional and said Oates' cell phone was used by other family members who may have been outside South Carolina.

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