Suspect surrenders after deadly Barnwell shooting

BARNWELL, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - We’re learning more about a shooting over the weekend that left a man dead in Barnwell.

Barnwell County Coroner Denise Gibson identified the victim of the shooting as Trevor Sumpter, 25, of Barnwell. She said he suffered multiple gunshot wounds and is scheduled to be autopsied Wednesday in Newberry.

And Police Chief Lamaz Robinson said Tuesday morning that a suspect had just turned himself in. Robinson identified the suspect as Brandon Jamar Davis, 34, of Salley, and said there could be additional charges and suspects.

MORE | What do Augusta's downtown violent crimes have in common?

The shooting was reported around 3 a.m. Saturday in the 200 block of Bomba Street.

Officers found a man with gunshot wounds to the chest, an arm and a leg.

A crowd began to form around the scene, so police radioed for backup to provide crowd control.

A bystander had also begun chest compressions on the victim until emergency medical crews arrived. The victim was taken to an area hospital, where he later died.

Robinson said he understands there had been a party nearby, where police responded to a report of a disturbance, and the host agreed to shut down the party at 1 a.m., which she did.

The crowd then traveled to Bomba Street, where two friends got into a verbal dispute, and one pulled a gun on the other, according to Robinson.

There was also a second shooting at that same location the next day at 1 a.m.; a man was shot in the posterior. Robinson can’t say the two incidents are connected at this time, though.

“I really hate that a young man had to lose his life over nonsense violence,” Robinson said. “We don’t get a lot of calls like this so frequently in our area. But I thank my detectives for working hard on these cases.

The fatal shooting was one of the latest in a string of deadly violence that’s been sweeping the CSRA.

TACKLING LOCAL CRIME:

Both sides of the Savannah River have been affected by the rash of shootings that started in mid-April, but Augusta has been especially hard-hit, seeing four fatal shootings in a week.

A shooting early Sunday in the 700 block of Broad Street claimed the life of 31-year-old Percy Luther Johnson of Fredericksburg, Va. – the fourth victim of a fatal shooting in one week in Augusta.

The shooting was only three blocks away from where 21-year-old Logan Etterle had been fatally shot early June 12.

The same morning Etterle was shot, Jakwan Gunter, 19, was found shot dead at 11th Avenue and Grand Boulevard. Deputies told News 12 they believe the shooting was gang-related.

And then on Tuesday, Eurl Kittles, 42, of Augusta, was fatally shot at a Captain D’s restaurant at 3166 Wrightsboro Road. Authorities are searching for Ravanell Gomillion, 40, in connection with the slaying.

Other homicides in the CSRA since April 14 include:

On June 3 in the 100 block of Pelzer Street in Warrenville, 34-year-old Lacey Toole was shot dead by her boyfriend John Williams, who then turned the gun on himself.
On June 2 on Summerhill Avenue, 37-year-old Yoni Vargas shot his wife, 33-year-old Rosa Salguero-Landaverde, then killed himself.
On May 29, a shooting killed two people – 17-year-old William Mykell Lowery and 30-year-old Christopher “Scooter” Dunn – at a “Freaknik”-themed party being held at a ballpark outside Sandersville, Ga. The shooting is believed to be the result of an altercation.
Patricia Dent, 65, was strangled to death by her boyfriend Joseph McKinnon, who then buried her body in their yard at 102 Tanglewood Drive in Trenton, authorities say. They learned of her death on May 7 after finding McKinnon dead of a heart attack he suffered while burying Dent.
A shooting just before 7:30 p.m. on April 23 claimed the life of Rodriquez Dunn, 31, at the Olmstead Homes in the 2100 block of B Street in Augusta. Dunn suffered at least one gunshot wound and died at the scene.
On April 19, Brittany Dougherty was found slain outside a vacant home in the 1500 block of Conklin Lane. Her death was considered suspicious from the start, but within hours the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office ruled her death a homicide.
On April 18, Johnnie Coleman was found shot dead in the 1900 block of Old Savannah Road. Authorities released a photo of a car suspected to have been linked to that slaying. Kelvin Lewis, 33, has been arrested as a suspect in the murders of Coleman and Dougherty.
Jenefer Holt Herron, 52, of Augusta, died late April 18 after being shot during an argument outside the Circle K at 1739 Walton Way in Augusta. Suspect Yelena Buckner, 33, of Augusta, was later found and arrested on charges of murder and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, deputies reported.
JaJuan Russell, 21, of Augusta, was fatally shot early April 17 in the 3700 block of Oslo Road in Augusta. Russell was taken to Augusta University Medical Center.
Sandersville police found the body of a man on April 16 inside a home on Gwendolyn Street while responding to a report of a domestic dispute at the address. Santavious Louis Roberts, 35, of Sandersville, was arrested.
Brandon Peebles, 24, of Girard, was shot around 10:45 p.m. on April 14 in the 2300 block of Prague Court. He was pronounced dead at 11:23 p.m.