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Grand jury indicts SC cop on felony charge in on-duty shooting

BY JEFFREY COLLINS

Updated May 27, 2015 5:03 PM

This April 7, 2015, booking photo provided by Edgefield County Detention Center, shows Justin Craven, a North Augusta, S.C., police officer, who is charged in the shooting death of an unarmed driver in February 2014 in South Carolina. State police in South Carolina refuse to release dashcam video that apparently shows the white police officer shooting a 68-year-old black man to death in his driveway after a nine-mile car chase. Edgefield County Detention Center - AP

COLUMBIA, SC

An Edgefield County grand jury has indicted a North Augusta police officer on a felony charge in the death of a driver shot after a long chase.

The grand jury handed up an indictment Wednesday on a charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, which carries up to 10 years in prison. The indictment came nine months after a grand jury refused to indict Justin Craven on a voluntary manslaughter charge.

Authorities say Craven chased 68-year-old Ernest Satterwhite for a dozen miles to his driveway in February 2014. Investigators say Craven fired several shots through Satterwhite’s car door almost immediately after he stopped. Craven told authorities Satterwhite reached for his gun.

Defense lawyer Jack Swerling says Craven thinks the shooting was justified and plans to go to trial.

This story was originally published May 27, 2015 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Grand jury indicts SC cop on felony charge in on-duty shooting."

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