CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - One man is in custody and authorities are searching for another in a triple murder in South Carolina.
Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said deputies arrested Jay Quan Washington, 20, of St. Stephen, and are searching for Donelle Lamar McKelvey, 28, of Summerville, WCSC-TV reported.
It was unknown if Washington has an attorney. The sheriff’s office said Washington was out on bond for attempted murder at the time of the shooting.
Washington has been charged with three counts of murder for the deaths of 23-year-old Martice Green, 22-year-old Desmond Williams and 19-year-old Malik Gibbs who were found in a car in a field in Pineville on Monday. All three of the victims were from St. Stephen.
McKelvey, who is considered armed and dangerous, is being sought for three counts of accessory before the fact of murder. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call the sheriff’s office or Crime Stoppers at (843)-554-1111.
According to Lewis, the motive of the murders appears to be robbery. Investigators say the victims and Washington were riding in Gibbs’ car on the day of the shooting and were found dead in the vehicle that evening.
An arrest warrant released Friday states that Washington’s fingerprint was recovered from the outside of the car’s rear passenger window. The warrant also states that Washington’s cell phone showed text messages between Washington and another person that included one in which Washington says he was in the car with the victims, asking for permission to “complete his mission” at 11:47 a.m., and reporting that the victims are DOA at 3:51 p.m.
“This was a brutal murder and it was a senseless murder,” Lewis said during a press conference Friday. “It happened for no reason.”
Investigators believe that the crime was in connection to gang activity.
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