Shootout at Horry County bar on bike week eve killed 1, left shooter’s identity in doubt
A shootout erupted outside the Koyote Saloon on the eve of 2018 Memorial Day bike week, leaving one dead and doubt about who fired the fatal shot.
Police initially charged Shawn Tisdale with murder in connection to the shooting, but on Thursday he pleaded guilty to only weapon charges for his role in the killing.
COVID-19 restriction meant Tisdale could not come to Horry County court for his hearing and had to appear via video from J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
Tisdale pleaded guilty to four crimes. He said he was guilty of unlawful possession of a pistol and pointing a gun at a person in connection to the 2018 shooting at Koyote Saloon. He also said he was guilty of two charges in connection to a 2017 home invasion.
Judge Steven John sentenced Tisdale to a total of 15 years in prison on all charges.
Police also charged Gary Jackson and Joey Henry in connection to the Koyote shooting and neither were in court on Thursday.
Horry County police went to the bar at 3506 U.S. 501 outside of Myrtle Beach on May 25, 2018, for the shooting and found Conway resident Reginald Washington, 26, dead. Assistant Solicitor Mary Ellen Walter said a fight started inside the club and grew to a gun battle outside the doors.
“There were multiple shooters and multiple firearms and obviously numerous shell casings found,” she said.
Four people fired weapons outside the club and Washington was shot in the firefight. Walter admitted the wound was a through-and-through shot, so there was no forensic evidence to determine who fired the fatal shot.
All of the defendants could claim self-defense and the witnesses declined to help in the case, Walter said. That is why the state allowed Tisdale to plea to the weapon charges instead of the murder count.
Tisdale told the court that the state’s version of what happened was correct.
The second-degree burglary and attempted armed robbery stems from a 2017 home invasion at a Myrtle Beach residence. Walter said Tisdale and two others entered a home with two adults and two children and took items.
