Suspect in Benedict College instructor’s death arrested in Florida

The 22-year-old suspect in the execution-style killing of a Benedict College instructor has been taken into custody after a wild, high-speed police chase in Florida, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.

The suspect, Ronald Harper Jr., confessed to Daytona Beach police that he shot Randall Brown in the head in Richland County, stole his car and then drove to Daytona Beach with a friend to enjoy spring break, police said.

Benedict College officials did not respond Tuesday to queries about Brown’s affiliation with the college.

However, a friend said Brown taught young children at the college’s Child Development Center, which offers daycare in the Benedict community.

“He had a great impact on a lot of children,” said Gia Thompson, an instructor at Carolina Technical College in Sumter and whose child goes to the Benedict center.

Lott’s investigators were on their way to Florida on Tuesday to talk with Harper and bring him back if he waives extradition.

Brown’s body was found around 3:20 a.m. early Sunday morning in the 5000 block of Brickyard Road in Northeast Richland.

Brown, 34, of 1208 Holland St., was pronounced dead at the scene of complications from a gunshot wound, according to Richland County coroner Gary Watts. His car was nowhere to be found, and Lott’s investigators classified it as a carjacking-homicide.

According to a report Tuesday in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Daytona Beach police chief Mike Chitwood and a detective heard Harper confess to killing Brown.

The report said:

Chitwood said Harper told him and detective Nate Williams that on Sunday morning he was walking in downtown Columbia, when he saw a man driving in a blue Jeep Laredo.

Harper told the chief that the driver of the Jeep stopped and asked if Harper wanted a ride. The suspect climbed into the Jeep and told Chitwood that the driver – identified as Brown – asked the suspect if he had any “gas money.” When Harper said no, the suspect claims Brown pulled out a gun and told him he was not going to drive him around for free, Chitwood said.

“He said Brown pulled out a gun then he (Harper) pulled out his own gun and he shot him in the head,” Chitwood said. “He said he then pushed him (Brown) out of the car and he took the car to a car wash and used clothes that belonged to the victim and that were in the back of the Jeep, to wipe the victim’s blood from the car.”

Chitwood said after Harper cleaned the Jeep — the chief said there were still bloodstains all over the seats — he then decided to go pick up his friend Daquan Cole, 21. The pair then went to a girl’s house in Columbia, drove around the city for a while, then decided to head south on Interstate 95 to Daytona Beach.

“He (Harper) told me he knew it was Spring Break down here and they said, ‘Let’s go,’ ” Chitwood said. “Along the way they stopped at a couple of McDonald’s to get something to eat, and they arrived here last night around 8 p.m.”

Harper and Cole ended up at a Daytona Beach nightclub, but they couldn’t get in because Cole didn’t have his ID.

Then Harper told Chitwood that he and Cole – whom he referred to as his “little brother” – drove around the city for a while before they decided to park the stolen Jeep somewhere so they could sleep.

They went into the parking lot of the Anatole Apartments on Dunn Avenue and backed the pilfered vehicle into a space, Chitwood said.

Daytona Beach Officer Krista Burns, assigned to a special detail that’s charged with riding around the city’s subdivisions and apartment complexes between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. to check for car break-ins, spotted the Jeep at 5:50 a.m. with two sleeping men inside, the chief said.

“Officer Burns snuck around to the back of the car and saw that it had a South Carolina tag,” Chitwood said. “She ran the tag and it came back stolen in a carjacking-homicide.”

Police then surrounded the apartment complex and placed stop sticks at the exits, the chief said. When Harper realized what was going on though, he revved up the Jeep and sped out of the parking lot, the Jeep’s tires rolling over the stop sticks unaffected, Chitwood said.

Harper then raced west on International Speedway Boulevard, and headed straight for the interstate, the chief said.

“He goes onto northbound I-95 and off we go,” Chitwood said.

The chase took police and Harper past the 100 mph mark, the chief said. With several tractor-trailers on the highway at that early hour, Harper had a hard time maneuvering the Jeep. When the suspect tried to pass one of the rigs, he lost control of the vehicle and veered off the highway in Flagler County, Chitwood said.

“He crashed in a wooded area off I-95,” Chitwood said. “His passenger (Cole) was unconscious and he (Harper) took off. We found him hiding in a swampy area.”

Cole, who had head trauma, was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, Chitwood said.

Harper was arrested and immediately said he wanted to speak with “the person in charge,” Chitwood said.

He was taken to police headquarters and investigators with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department were notified.

“They’re on their way down here to pick him up,” Chitwood said of Harper.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott has scheduled a 12:30 p.m. press conference Wednesday. He said he’ll answer questions about his department’s investigation into Brown’s death.

The Daytona Beach News-Journal contributed.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 1:32 PM.