Three men sentenced to prison in fatal shooting of 21-year-old Myrtle Beach-area woman

Three men charged with murder in connection of the shooting of a 21-year-old woman nearly two years ago are serving various prison sentences, according to authorities.

In February, Brandon James Littell, 20, of Atlantic Beach, pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison in the shooting of Kelsie Monin, 21, who was found dead after police were called about 4 p.m. June 12, 2013, to Old Crane Road off Sandridge Road.

Littell is not eligible for parole, according to the S.C. Department of Corrections website.

Two other men, Michael De Vonte Bellamy, 21, of Little River, and Diaquan Johnson, 17, who was initially charged as a juvenile but later waived up to General Sessions Court, also each pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in Monin’s death, said Nancy Livesay, who prosecuted the men for the 15th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

Bellamy was ordered to serve 25 years in prison, while Johnson was ordered to serve 10 years, Livesay said.

The men were arrested June 2013 after a manhunt in the area of North Myrtle Beach, Horry County police said. Officers were called to the area and soon after they found Monin on the dirt road, they received a second call from a man who was with Monin and had suffered a gunshot wound.

The man was at the Kangaroo store on S.C. 90 at Sea Mountain Highway, police said.

In a release, Livesay said that Littell and his two codefendants lured Monin and the man to Old Crane Road to kill them. Littell fired multiple gunshots at the two and Monin fled the vehicle they were in.

The men chased after Monin, threw her to the ground and kicked her, Livesay said. The man, who was with Monin, fled in the vehicle and Littell fired at the vehicle as it sped away.

Authorities said that Littell and Bellamy had prior criminal records before Monin’s shooting.

Littell was convicted of attempted armed robbery in December 2012, and sentenced to three years in prison. That sentence was suspended to 18 months probation, according to State Law Enforcement Division records. A grand larceny charge against him, stemming from an April 30, 2013, incident, remains pending.

Bellamy was convicted of third-degree burglary in July 2012 and was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act to a term not to exceed five years. He was placed in the shock incarceration program, according to Horry County public records.

Littell’s mother, Debbie, was also charged in the case with being an accessory after the fact, but those charges were later dismissed, according to the Horry County Public Index.

During the investigation, detectives were searching for the three men and police said detectives went to a house in Atlantic Beach and spoke to Debbie Littell, who said she had not seen her son.

At 5 a.m. June 20, 2013, detectives learned that the suspects were at the home and that Debbie Littell was not truthful when she was questioned about their whereabouts, police said. Officers returned to the home and took the suspects into custody.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 1:43 PM with the headline "Three men sentenced to prison in fatal shooting of 21-year-old Myrtle Beach-area woman."