The man killed by a Richland County Sheriff’s deputy early Thursday had a prison record and a long list of arrests on drug, assault and weapons charges over the last 12 years, according to state records.

Keith Jarmarcus Durham, 29, of Columbia, was shot and killed during a fight with a Richland County Sheriff’s deputy, during which Durham tried to get the deputy’s .40-caliber Glock semi-automatic, according to Sheriff Leon Lott.

Deputy Reginald Grant, a three-year veteran with a good record, had no choice but to shoot to kill in the close quarters incident, Lott said.

“The deputy was in a fight for his life,” Lott said. “This guy was going to do all he could to escape, and if that meant killing Deputy Grant, he would have done that.”

SLED is investigating the incident at Lott’s request, a SLED spokeswoman said.

The incident took place around 4 a.m. in the 1300 block of Longcreek Drive near Broad River Road, Lott said. No witnesses were present, and no security cameras captured the incident.

According to S.C. Department of Corrections records, Durham served 16 months in state prison on a Richland County charge of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in 2002 and 2003.

Lott gave this version of events:

As Grant was cruising past a motel on Garner Lane to follow up on an earlier complaint, he saw a pickup truck pull up. A man hopped out, leaving the truck running. He began arguing loudly with a woman.

Grant got out of his patrol car to talk to the man, identified as Durham, and Durham began screaming. The deputy requested to pat him down for weapons. Durham turned and ran.

Grant caught up to Durham about 50 yards away. As Grant tried to arrest Durham, the deputy shot him with a Taser. “That don’t hurt,” Lott quoted Durham as saying.

As the two scuffled, Durham wrested the Taser away from him. Durham then Tased the deputy, but only one electric dart stuck in Grant; it takes two to deliver the most powerful shock.

Then Durham tried to grab Grant’s gun in its holster.

Durham than grabbed the Taser for a second time and pointed it at Grant. “That’s when the deputy shot him,” Lott said.

Lott estimated the amount of cocaine found on Durham had was from a quarter- to a half-pound. The man was carrying it in a pants pocket, Lott said.

When the chase began, Grant called other officers for assistance. “By the time they got there, it was all over with,” Lott said.

Lott did not know how many times Durham was struck by Grant’s gunfire, but added it was “multiple.”