Police still tracking leads in past cases

By JOE PERRY
Item Staff Writer
jperry@theitem.com

In early December 2008, a 25-year-old Horatio man was shot and killed at his Richbow Road home during what authorities think was a home invasion.

The unexpected death of Joseph Letrez Brooks hit his family hard, said his uncle Tony Hunter, 36, of Atlanta.

“Everyone is in a recovery period,” Hunter said recently, “but you don’t get the full closure with the murderer still walking around. We’ve grieved Joseph’s passing, but the scar is still fresh with the perpetrator still walking around and could potentially harm someone else.”

Hunter praises the efforts of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and asks anyone with information to contact law enforcement or Crime Stoppers.

Talking about unsolved murders recently, Sheriff Anthony Dennis prefers not to deem them as “cold.”

“All the time we’re developing leads,” he said. “We don’t close them. We consider them cold when we’ve exhausted all leads.”

In several cases, investigators are waiting on test results from the State Law Enforcement Division laboratory in Columbia, which has an unfortunate backlog.

“Several cases are tied up in ballistics,” he said. “We’re waiting on results.”

Dennis spoke about the August 2008 fatal shooting of Charles “Charlie” Way, 66, who was found dead in his Grace Lane home by his daughter. Robbery may be the motive in that slaying, but Dennis said this case is also waiting on test results from SLED. Way, an Army veteran and retired U.S. Postal Service worker, was well liked and well known in the community and died from a single gunshot to the abdomen fired through his door.

Way, whose wife died a couple of years ago from cancer, lived alone. His niece Misty Huggins spoke of her uncle shortly after his death, admitting she was in “total shock” when she heard the news.

“He was a very friendly person,” she said. “Didn’t have any enemies. If anybody needed anything, he’d do anything for anybody.”

The other case Dennis cites as perhaps hinging on test results from SLED is the November 2008 shooting of Glen James, a 34-year-old wheelchair-bound man who was killed on Deacon Lane. Theresa Bracey lives across the street from the crime scene and spoke of James after his death as an upbeat and friendly person whom everyone in the neighborhood knew.

“He was so good. So respectable. Just friendly — smiling all the time. Never a harsh word, never raised his voice,” she said.

The most recent killing in county jurisdiction — the May 19 shooting of Markeith Ford, a 31-year-old teacher who died June 1 — saw a suspect named Friday.

Tony Mitchell Lowery, 30, whose last known address was 422 E. Charlotte Ave., is being sought on charges of murder and assault and battery and has been added to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Top 10 Most Wanted List. He is a black man described as 6 feet 2 inches and 220 pounds with black hair and brown eyes.

Ford, of 24 Logan St., was at his sister Teresa Ford’s home at 2 W. Newberry Ave. watching basketball when two men brandishing handguns forced their way into the home about 10:30 p.m. After taking Markeith Ford’s keys and searching his car, $80 was taken, and a man referred to as “Moe” fired a shot, hitting Ford in the head. Ford was airlifted to Palmetto Health Richland but lapsed into a coma and died on Monday.

Ford was a Bates Middle School and Sumter High School football standout and was working at the HOPE centers while waiting for a teaching position to open up. A second suspect — “Moe” — is still being sought.

Other high profile unsolved cases in city jurisdiction include:

n The May 8 shooting of Cabrall “Demond” Archie Sr., 26, of 138 Carver St., and his 1-year-old son, Cabrall Archie Jr. Both were airlifted to Palmetto Health Richland, but the boy died three days later, while his father remains hospitalized. Archie’s neighbor, Lawrence China, 56, said the day after the shooting that he’s known Archie his whole life.

“He came from a nice family. It’s just a tragedy for something like this to happen. I hope they catch whoever did this,” China said.

n The Feb. 28 death of James Davis, 65, of 40 Robinson St. is still an active investigation. He was pronounced dead at Tuomey Regional Medical Center about 5:58 p.m. after Emergency Medical Services transported him from his home about an hour earlier. Davis was reportedly bleeding from his face.

Sumter Police Chief Patty Patterson said investigators are still hard at work on both cases.

In county jurisdiction, investigators are still trying to determine who was the second gunman in the April 27 shooting death of Anthony Nocerino, 56, who was shot twice in the head in his DuBose Siding Road home. Nocerino’s girlfriend, Tawanda Brown, was also shot in the head but survived. Henry Taylor Jr., a 26-year-old Dalzell man, was arrested two days later and charged with murder and assault and battery with intent to kill. The second gunman is described as a black male 20 to 30 years old.

If anyone has information on any unsolved case, contact the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office or the Sumter Police Department at (803) 436-2700 or Crime Stoppers at (803) 436-2718. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward. For more information on older unsolved cases in county jurisdiction: www.sumtersheriff.org/unsolved.htm

Contact Staff Writer Joe Perry at jperry@theitem.com or (803) 774-1272.