Man, 29, charged in November attack on woman

PRINCE

By JOE PERRY
Item Senior Staff Writer
jperry@theitem.com

A 29-year-old man was charged Monday in connection with a brutal November 2008 home invasion and robbery during which a 59-year-old woman's throat was slashed.

Aaron Alexander Prince, formerly of 10 Rolling Creek Drive, was served warrants on charges of assault and battery with intent to kill, grand larceny and first degree burglary, said Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis on Tuesday, after DNA evidence came back from the State Law Enforcement Division putting him at the scene of the home invasion on Morningside Drive.

Public records show Prince is currently incarcerated at Lee Correctional Institution in Bishopville, serving a two-year sentence for possession of a stolen vehicle.

"He was a suspect from the beginning," Dennis said, "and we needed the DNA evidence to charge him."

He said Prince left behind blood that was collected and analyzed by SLED.

The attack happened about 8 p.m. on Nov. 10, 2008, when three men forced their way into the woman's home and stole her 2008 Ford Focus. Investigators think Prince used a knife to slash the woman's throat before fleeing the scene. A deputy spotted the car about four hours later on Boulevard Road and stopped it on Commander Court, but the two black male occupants fled on foot into a nearby field.

"It was a brutal crime with the attempt on her life," Dennis said. "We're happy to have made an arrest and we'll continue to investigate until we arrest the other two suspects."

Neighbors of the woman said at the time she was shy and kept to herself, and were concerned at the level of property crime in the area. Not long after the attack, the sheriff's office held a community forum at the South HOPE Center and Dennis declared a war on crime.

Public records show Prince has several criminal convictions dating to 1996, with guilty pleas on charges of second-degree burglary, forgery less than $5,000 and assault upon an employee of a correctional facility.

Prince also has a pending assault and battery with intent to kill charge from March 28 after the Sumter Police Department said he intentionally rammed his Mitsubishi Galant into a 35-year-old man's Dodge Durango following an early morning altercation with the man at Andre's Plaza on Manning Avenue.

If anyone has information on the other two suspects in the November 2008 home invasion, please call the Sumter County Sheriff's Office at (803) 436-2700 or Crime Stoppers at (803) 436-2718. Callers may remain anonymous and may be eligible for a cash reward.

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