Bombshell allegations detail Loris-area murder; suspect possibly tied to Fla. killing
Allegations of an execution-style murder in Loris and suggestions the man suspected of pulling the trigger might be involved in other killings highlighted an emotionally charged courtroom Wednesday morning.
Laquandian Bromell appeared via video in Horry County court as he sought bond on a murder charge. Horry County police accused him of the fatal June shooting of Hedien Goodman. That shooting happened four months after prosecutors dropped manslaughter charges against Bromell in connection to a 2018 shooting.
Assistant Solicitor Chris Helms and Goodman’s family members described the 22-year-old’s last moments on a June night into the morning. They argued for Bromell to remain behind bars, which Judge Wiliams Seals agreed with by denying bond.
Goodman went a Loris-area nightclub on June 22 for a night of fun, his family said. Goodman was not into drugs or causing problems.
It was the same nightclub that Goodman went to in December and was shot five times, his family said. In that incident, Goodman was trying to break up a fight when someone shot him.
Ruby Shepherd, Goodman’s aunt, said she spoke to her nephew before he went to the club.
“’So be careful. Whatever you do come home safe,’” Shepherd recalled telling Goodman.
Goodman left the club around 4 a.m. and walked alongside a road. Video surveillance showed Bromell getting to a car and driving from the club, Helms said.
“He pulls up beside him, and you see a bright flash of light coming from the car. It’s obviously a gunshot,” Helms said, adding there were previous disagreements between Bromell and Goodman.
Bromell shot Goodman seven or eight times, Helms said. Goodman braced himself on his hands and knees on the ground and as he tried to get back up, Bromell got out of the car. The suspect then walked behind Goodman, and delivered the fatal shot to the back of the victim’s head.
As Helms described the killing, Goodman’s parents, grandmother and aunt sat in the back of the courtroom and cried. One put her hands over her faces and rocked back and forth as she heard the details.
Defense denies allegations
Helms said residents of the area where the shooting occurred haven’t been forthcoming in previous police investigations, but were helpful and provided the videos used to help arrest Bromell.
Moments after Helms finished detailing the crime, defense attorney Thurmond Brooker said Monday’s hearing was not to hold a trial, but to discuss bond. He vehemently denied the allegations made by the state.
“That is not proven,” Brooker said.
The defense noted that Bromell lived in Loris his entire life and received a scholarship to attend college, before dropping out. Brooker also said his client has no criminal history, and cooperated with police when they came to a home to arrest him in June.
“He has not been convicted of anything,” Brooker said.
But Helms noted that in 2018 police charged Bromell with manslaughter in connection to a shooting where Larry T. Wilson was shot and killed on Radius Road in the Freemont area. Helms said those charges were dropped in June because of a lack of evidence.
“As soon as those charges are disposed of, he goes out and shoots Hedien Goodman,” Helms said.
Helms also stated that Florida officials have also said they wanted to talk Bromell in connection to a murder there. He didn’t provide any additional details about that killing.
A lovable person
Shepherd was the only member of Goodman’s family to address the court during the bond hearing and described the 22-year-old like a son.
“Hedien was not a violent person. Lovable, kind, everyone loved him,” Shepherd said.
Like Bromell, Goodman spent his entire life in Horry County, Shepherd said, and had three older brothers. She recalled that she didn’t believe it when she got the early-morning phone call telling her that Goodman was dead.
The family asked for Brommell to remain behind bond as they feel threatened, and society feels threatened by Bromell, Shepherd said.
“Life means nothing to him,” she said.
Goodman would have turned 23 years old on Sept. 3. But instead of a joyous event, the family had to have a balloon release at his final resting place.
“We had to celebrate his birthday at his grave,” Shepherd said.
This story was originally published September 30, 2020 at 2:45 PM.
