2 in custody after shooting that left 1 dead, another injured at Sumter motel

Two men are in police custody in connection to a fatal shooting at a Sumter motel on Saturday night, Jan. 25.

Tevon Demetrius Guess, 34, of Pinewood, was first identified as a suspect and taken into custody on Sunday morning, Jan. 26, after the shooting. Guess was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to Tonyia McGirt, public information officer for Sumter Police Department.

A second suspect, 39-year-old Melvin Shirell Belle, of Anderson Street, turned himself in to police late Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 29. He was charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder, McGirt said.

Both men are being held at Sumter County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. Additional charges are pending, McGirt said.

Officers responded to a shooting call at about 11 p.m. on Saturday at Rodeway Inn, 226 N. Washington St., and were directed to a room where they found 28-year-old Raekwon Rasheen Reyes Owens deceased, McGirt said.

Another victim, a 25-year-old Sumter woman, was also shot and taken to a Columbia hospital. She remains there in stable condition, McGirt said.

A third person, a 26-year-old Sumter woman, was also in the room but was uninjured.

According to McGirt, the suspects and victims are considered acquaintances.

An investigation is ongoing.