Man charged with murder in death of 14-year-old Longs boy

Police have formally charged a Longs man with murder after a 14-year-old boy was killed last week.

Rodrez Daquell Stanley, 21, of Longs, turned himself in to police Tuesday afternoon, according to Lt. Raul Denis with Horry County Police. He was charged Wednesday with murder, Denis said.

Earlier this week police identified Stanley as a person of interest in the shooting death of Longs teen Taizaun Dewitt.

Denis said Stanley surrendered to authorities Tuesday afternoon for an unrelated arrest warrant. Online jail records at J. Reuben Long Detention Center list Stanley as charged with failure to appear.

Horry County police were called about 8:30 p.m. Friday after Dewitt was shot. Police found that the shooting occurred at 2880 Collins Circle in Longs, according to an arrest warrant.

Police were told that he was being taken to Seacoast Coast Medical Center in Little River by another person, Denis said.

That person was an unidentified witness who was driving home from work and heard gunshots on Pint Circle in Longs. The witness saw a male walking down some stairs at a residence down the road, reaching the street before he collapsed.

When she recognized the victim, she tried to transport him to Seacoast Sea Coast Medical Center. The witness couldn’t give police an exact address where the incident took place, but did say she saw several people running from the house. Police had issued an alert for Stanley before he turned himself in.

Dewitt was shot just below the left eye, according to the police report. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

In the Longs area, there have been multiple shootings leaving four men, including Taizaun, dead at four different locations since March 22:

▪ On March 22, Don Terrell Simmons, a 28-year-old from Loris, was gunned down outside Club Ciroc, an unlicensed nightspot in a shopping plaza on S.C. 9. No arrests have been made in the case.

▪ On March 27, Terrance Wilson, 20, died in a shooting at Club 13 on Freemont Road. No one has been charged in that case.

▪ On April 18, a gun battle erupted at The Party Shop on S.C. 90. Police found 18-year-old Reeves lying facedown. Four people have been arrested in connection with his murder.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 7:06 PM with the headline "Man charged with murder in death of 14-year-old Longs boy."