There wasn't time to radio back he was under fire; the shots just came.
As soon as Sgt. Randy Botten exited his vehicle after a high-speed chase, the suspect opened fire from a distance of 15 feet.
Miraculously, the shooter missed Botten.
In connection with that shooting incident, Ronald Daniels, now 35, is facing a charge of assault with intent to kill, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
A new bill creating a charge of attempted murder to address potentially deadly situations such as that Aug. 11, 2007, shooting is in front of the state Senate.
"I felt like we needed to do something," said 1st Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe, who suggested and is pushing the bill. "You take a gun, and just because you are a bad shot and don't kill them, you get 10 years."
Under the proposed bill, a defendant charged with attempted murder under a scenario such as that involving Botten and Daniels, could be facing a life sentence, Pascoe said.
"We've proposed some legislation, where we've changed assault and battery to where it will carry 10 years to life," Pascoe said. "Assault and battery with intent to kill would be changed to assault in the first degree. Instead of up to 20 years (for ABWIK), it's going to be a felony that carries up to 30 years."
Currently, ABWIK carries a maximum of 20 years.
The legal difference between ABWIK and assault with intent to kill (AWIK) is whether or not the intended victim was physically harmed by battery, or actual contact. If the intended victim was not struck, a defendant can face a charge of AWIK.
Sponsored by Rep. Annette Young, R-Summerville, the bill was given its first reading Jan. 29. From there, it has been referred to the Judiciary Committee.
Young could not be reached for comment.
If the bill passes, it would replace the current charges of assault and battery with intent to kill and also assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature.
Those current charges would become assault and battery, first-degree; and assault and battery, second-degree.
Referring to late 2005, Pascoe cited two Orangeburg County sheriff's deputies being shot, the resulting case of which the solicitor said further validated the need for such a bill.
"In almost every case where you go to trial, the judge can (include in his) charge assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature (ABHAN), which carries 10 years," Pascoe said. "You remember (OCSO Lt.) James Shumpert and (then-deputy Kenneth) McCaster; I had to battle like hell to get that" charge of ABHAN dropped, he said.
Roger Johnson was later found guilty of shooting the deputies. He was charged with two counts of assault and battery with intent to kill.
The 31-year-old Johnson was sentenced to life in prison, due only to South Carolina's two strikes law.
The two officers survived. One was wearing a bullet-proof vest when he was shot point-blank.
Had a jury been instructed to consider an ABHAN charge, Johnson, who is also charged with two murders, could of been back on the streets in 10 years or less.
The case that initiated thoughts of change came just months earlier than the shooting of the deputies. In April 2005, a circuit court judge sentenced Kenneth Lewis to 20 years on an assault charge.
On Dec. 14, 2003, Joseph Bradley was paralyzed after he was struck in the back by a shotgun blast. He remains in a wheelchair today, Pascoe said.
Lewis, 46 at the time of his 2005 conviction for shooting Bradley, was found guilty of assault and battery with intent to kill. The Dorchester County man was sentenced to 20 years, the maximum under the law.
"Even the judge said, 'I'm giving you 20 years because that's all I can give you,'" Pascoe said of Circuit Court Judge James Williams. "You have to ask yourself, is 20 years enough time for attempted murder? My answer is no."
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.