Cloud to face trial for harboring fugitive – The Island News – Beaufort, SC

Port Royal woman charged with helping brother escape from Jasper County Detention Center

By Mike McCombs

The Island News

The case of another suspect with ties to a Beaufort County sex trafficking ring has been moved to the Beaufort District Court, where she is scheduled to appear on Friday, August 23.

Judge Nancy Sadler ruled there was sufficient evidence to try Kalynn Jade Cloud, 20, of Port Royal, on the charge of harboring an escaped convict.

On July 18, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) charged Cloud, Amani Nekwan Vaughn, 30, of Port Royal, and Guy Frank Talley, III, 27, of Beaufort with harboring an escaped inmate. The charges allegedly relate to their roles in helping Jaquan Duvall Barnes, 29, of Port Royal, escape and flee the Beaufort area after he escaped from the Jasper County Detention Center on or about June 9 or 10.

Cloud and Vaughn, Barnes’ biological sisters, both posted $10,000 cash and $10,000 surety bonds, according to court records. Vaughn’s hearing is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20.

Barnes, the alleged leader of the sex trafficking ring, is charged with human trafficking, victim under 18; two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor – 2nd degree; two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor – 3rd degree; contributing to the juvenile delinquency of a minor; and unlawful escape.

Talley, who allegedly harbored Barnes at his Beaufort home, is also charged with human trafficking, victim under 18; sexual exploitation of a minor – 2^nd Degree; and sexual exploitation of a minor — 3^rd Degree as part of the human trafficking operation.

Talley’s bail was set Tuesday, July 23, at $110,000 with GPS monitoring and house arrest. He is only allowed to leave the house for work or medical or legal appointments. He posted bail and was released Monday, July 29. His preliminary hearing has been postponed several times.

During Cloud’s probable cause hearing on Friday, SLED Special Agent Logan Fey testified that Barnes used tools to cut a hole in the shower during his escape from the Jasper County Detention Center on June 9 or 10. He entered the ceiling, which allowed him to crawl into daylight, break through the roof, escape into the fenced yard, climb over the fence and barbed wire, and cross the road into the woods.

Barnes walked to a gas station in Coosawhatchie, where he used a homeless man’s cell phone to contact Beaufort County resident Guy Talley III and his sisters.

According to Fey, when Talley was arrested in June, he gave a statement to investigators. Fey testified that Talley admitted to giving a phone to Barnes, who then contacted his sisters — Cloud and Vaughn — and summoned them to Talley’s residence in Beaufort County.

According to Fey, Talley’s direct statement was that he had listened to the phone conversation between the sisters and Barnes. The two girls eventually turned over clothing, as well as the cell phone that Barnes had in his possession when he was arrested in Florida.

According to Fey, a DVR, now in SLED’s possession, found in Barnes’ home contained footage of Barnes’ sisters arriving and later leaving with Barnes. They eventually left Beaufort County, allowing Barnes to reach Florida and evade law enforcement.

According to Fey, SLED kept tabs on the sisters and tracked them to Barnes in Florida, where they helped him escape.

According to Fey, Cloud and Vaughn became targets of the investigation when they learned they had helped Barnes escape.

Fey said that, based on a federal magistrate judge’s warrant, SLED was able to monitor the date and frequency of the phone calls for up to a month before the escape, but not the actual content of the conversations.

He testified that there was a “substantial” increase in phone calls between Barnes and Cloud (and Vaughn) on a device provided by the Jasper County Detention Center, though he could not testify about what they said.

SLED has the communications from Barnes’ new cell phone to the sisters, while Cloud’s cell phone is still being processed. (Fey said police have seized more than 50 electronic devices in this case so far.)

Cloud has not provided a statement to police.

Fey testified that SLED “anticipates that additional arrests will be made” in the case.

Cloud’s attorney, Carolyn Carmody, argued that without the actual content of the calls or text messages, police were only speculating about why Barnes contacted Cloud and Vaughn.

However, in recording Cloud’s trial, Sadler made it clear that Talley’s statement combined with the telephone evidence was more than sufficient.

“When you add all that together, it’s enough for probable cause,” she said.

Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at [email protected].