Man charged in shooting
By RICHARD WALKER, T&D Staff Writer Tuesday, April 07, 20094 comment(s) | Default | Large
City police want to know if a drive-by shooting that left a man with a bullet in his head was gang-related.
"That's one of the things we are definitely looking into, to see if this was gang-related," said Capt. Ed Conner of the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety.
The 21-year-old who was shot was taken to the Regional Medical Center on Friday before he was airlifted to Charleston's Medical University of South Carolina.
ODPS Detective Bobby Rivers said physicians determined the best course of action was to leave the projectile in the man's head, just behind the left ear. He was released Saturday and returned to his home in Georgia.
Terry Andrae Johnson, 20, of 113 Tonyota Court, Orangeburg, was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill and discharging a firearm within city limits.
On Saturday, Orangeburg County Magistrate Jacob Gillens set bond on Johnson at $20,000 surety. Johnson was released on bond Sunday.
A woman told police the incident began Friday as a male friend was driving her white Volvo, according to an ODPS incident report. Two male passengers were riding with her and a friend, the woman said.
The men were, "looking for two other vehicles that (the subject) had problems with in the past," according to the report.
Around 2:10 p.m., the men spotted two vehicles and followed them to a location near Buckley and Jamison streets.
The woman said at least two of the men inside her vehicle then began firing at the cars, the report said. She ducked down when she realized shooters in the two cars were firing back at them.
In an attempt to flee the gunfire, the driver of the Volvo sped down Jamison Avenue and struck another car at the intersection of Magnolia Street, the woman said. She said she bailed out of the car and fled to a nearby business.
The Georgia man told police he was a front passenger in a friend's Nissan when he heard the back glass shatter and felt a bullet strike him in the back of the head.
He jumped out of the car and fled to a nearby vehicle to have the occupants drive him to the hospital.
Police found several .38-caliber shell casings at the scene of the gun battle.
The white Volvo was seized in order that crime scene specialists could go through it. It had been struck several times, police say.
More arrests are expected in connection with the shooting carried out in broad daylight.
"It isn't over," Conner said. "This is not going to be tolerated. It happened so close to the university and people's houses. They should feel safe in their houses."
The individual who called to report the shooting to police didn't leave his or her name. Police ask anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact ODPS at 803-435-2812.
"We're tracking down leads. More arrests are pending," Conner said.
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.
To subscribe to the print edition of The Times and Democrat, click here.
formerresident wrote on Apr 8, 2009 12:35 AM:
At least 2 cars if not 3 were occupied with individuals carrying guns. Explain to me that if they're not in gangs - why do they need guns? Drug Dealers? Robbers? What? Doesn't sound like any of these people are "victims"! You do what you do -- you get what you get. "
thetruth09 wrote on Apr 7, 2009 11:42 PM:
collegeboy09 wrote on Apr 7, 2009 8:11 PM:
countrygonecity wrote on Apr 7, 2009 12:54 PM: