Was it revenge? Last week’s deadly shooting near CCU has ties to 2015 murder
There are ties between a murder this weekend near Coastal Carolina University and a 2015 killing in the same vicinity, but officials have not said if the two homicides are connected.
Jamarr White died and Dequan Wilson was injured in a shooting Saturday near S.C. Highway 544. Police previously charged Wilson with murder for allegedly killing Kristen Jetel Rekeem Williams at the University Village at the Coast, a former housing development popular with Coastal Carolina students.
Dorian Derrell Williams, a relative of Kristen Williams, was charged with murder and attempted murder in connection to the Saturday shooting that left White dead and Wilson injured.
Conway Police Spokeswoman Taylor Newell said the investigation of the Saturday shooting is still in the early stages. She could not confirm if Saturday’s shooting was in retaliation for the 2015 killing.
2015 Murder
On Sept. 14, 2015, police went to University Village at the Coast, off U.S. Highway 501, for a reported assault of 19-year-old Kristen Jetel Rekeem Williams. His brother reported finding the teen unresponsive in the road, but still breathing, according to a police report. A witness said he saw Williams pushed off the balcony at the complex, according to the report.
Officers found Williams had a pulse and blood coming from the back of his head. But it was later determined that Williams died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Wilson turned himself in days later and was charged with murder.
In February 2018, prosecutors dropped the murder charges against Wilson. A letter provided by Senior Assistant Solicitor Joshua Holford to the police and the victim’s mother detail why they declined to prosecute.
“At this time, there is insufficient evidence to prove the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” the letter reads.
Issues included witnesses changing testimony and some of the evidence in the case, according to the letter. There was enough evidence for probable cause, but not enough to prove guilt, the letter adds.
Wilson has faced numerous charges since prosecutors dropped the murder charge, including three arrests in 2019. In January, he was charged with attempted murder in connection to a Christmas Day shooting. In June, he was arrested by CCU police and charged with drug possession and having a stolen pistol.
Conway police also arrested Wilson on Sunday, one day after he was shot.
While he received treatment for his gunshot, officers found drugs in Wilson’s pants they were collecting as evidence, according to a police report. Police charged Wilson with two drug counts. He posted $5,615 bond and was released from J. Reuben Long Detention Center on Monday.
All of the 2019 charges against Wilson are pending, according to online court records.
2019 murder
On Saturday, Conway and CCU police responded to the Cove Apartments around 2 a.m. for a reported fight. While on the way, dispatchers told officers there were shots fired and one victim was in the nearby Circle K gas station parking lot.
Officers arrived and determined the shooting happened at The American Tavern, 702 S.C. 544, according to the report.
Investigators say Jamarr White, 24, of Conway, was killed in the shooting. He was shot twice in the upper body, according to arrest warrants.
Wilson was shot in the back, according to police reports.
Dorian Williams was charged with murder, two counts of attempted of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection to the Saturday shooting near Coastal Carolina University. Conway police also charged Tyree Leonard Graham, 20, with murder, two counts of attempted murder, third-offense shoplifting and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection to the shooting.
Both men remain in J. Reuben Long Detention Center without bond.
While Dorian Williams and Wilson have ties to the 2015 killing, it’s unclear if White or Graham have any connection to the earlier slaying.
This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
