Deja vu: Man going to jail again, this time for robbing store

By RICHARD WALKER
T&D Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 07, 2007

For the second time in his life, an Orangeburg man will be sent to prison on a robbery charge, this time for 15 years.

Don Demetrius Martin, 38, of 623 Mimosa St., pleaded guilty this week to one count of armed robbery and one count of attempted strong-arm robbery.

Circuit Court Judge James Williams sentenced Martin to 15 years on each count, to be served at the same time.

Martin had served 8.5 years for a 1996 armed robbery. He had been out of jail for about eight months when the Aug. 24, 2005 robbery occurred.

On that date, Martin entered DeJa Vu in the Orangeburg Mall at about 5:05 p.m. and, after browsing about the shop, demanded money from the register.

When the clerk told Martin she did not have a key to open the register, he stated he “had a knife and would use it,” according to an Orangeburg Department of Public Safety report.

Martin then ran at two female shoppers in the store, stating that he would stab one of them if she didn’t hand over her purse, according to the report. He then snatched the woman’s purse and ran out of the store, speeding away in a burgundy GMC truck.

A man in the parking lot, however, wrote down the truck’s tag number, and a female motorist passing through followed the truck. The female motorist lost sight of the truck on Dantzler Street “due to his high speeds,” the report states.

A GMC was found abandoned about 25 minutes later at a location behind the Riverside Drive Bi-Lo. The license plate matched the number the passerby in the parking lot gave police.

Inside the truck, police found a driver’s license. The name on the license was Don Demetrius Martin.

Nearby, police found a purse, which ultimately proved to belong to the customer who was robbed inside the business.

In unrelated cases:

  • Willie Dee Corley, 18, of 1375 Virginia Ave., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree burglary and was sentenced under the Youthful Offender Act, not to exceed six years on each count. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

  • Jason Irick, 31, of 955 Ott St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to one count of escape and was sentenced to 15 days, to run consecutive to a Family Court sentence.

    On June 16, 2006 Irick didn’t return from work release. He was apprehended in St. George.

  • Matthew Strock, 30, of 1115 Beason Road, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to breach of trust and was sentenced to four years, suspended to five years of probation.

  • Sean Christopher Keyes, 32, of 632 Shep Lane, Pine Hill, pleaded guilty to two counts of financial transaction card fraud and was sentenced on each count to one year, suspended to 18 months of probation. Keyes was also ordered to repay $629.

  • Shawntae Grier, 31, of 1707 Long Shadow Lane, Columbia, pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen vehicle and was sentenced to three years, suspended to five years of probation. Grier was ordered to repay $3,422.

  • Wade Doering, 20, of 833 Cannon Bridge Road, Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to simple assault and battery and was sentenced to time served.

    Doering also pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary and was sentenced to two years of probation.

  • Darwin Hopkins, 37, of 125 Orrie Circle, St. Matthews, pleaded guilty to a sex offender registry violation and was sentenced to 90 days.

  • Terrance Bonaparte, 33, of 367 Albert St., Orangeburg, pleaded guilty to second-offense criminal domestic violence and was sentenced to one year and a $2,500 fine, suspended to 30 days and two years of probation.

    T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.