Sheriff said Moncks Corner man ‘gunned down’ area couple on Parklane Road

A suspect was charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of a Columbia-area husband and wife who were killed on Parklane Road on Thursday night, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott confirmed Wednesday night.

Ricardo Laroy Middleton, 43, of Moncks Corner, was taken into custody Tuesday at a residence in Summerville, South Carolina. Middleton allegedly shot the couple and a third person “after an earlier verbal altercation,” the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department said on its Facebook page.

Aaron L. Collins, 40, and Sydni McMillan Collins, 46, were “gunned down”around 9:45 p.m. on the 7700 block of Parklane Road, Lott said. They were found around 10 p.m. near the intersection of Parklane Road and Claudia Drive, about 7 miles from their home on Vineyards Crossing Court in Blythewood.

The third person at the northeast Richland intersection had non-life threatening injuries from a car accident that happened at the scene at the same time as the shooting, Lott said.

All three victims were riding motorcycles and were stopped at the intersection when the shooting happened, Richland County Sheriff’s Deparment’s Sgt. Brittany Jackamonis said. However, it was unclear earlier this week if the Collinses were on separate motorcycles. Their relationship to the third person also was unclear.

Both victims died from their wounds at Palmetto Health Richland Memorial hospital between 10:29 p.m. and 10:45 p.m. Thursday, the Richland County coroner’s office said.

Investigators were speaking with the third victim and working to obtain surveillance footage that may have captured the shooting, Jackamonis said on Monday.

Middleton was being held at Richland County’s Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon on two counts of murder and one count on attempted murder.

His arrest was credited to team work involving the sheriff departments in Richland, Berkeley, Dorchester and Charleston counties, as well as the Midlands Gangs Task Force and the US Marshall’s Task Force, Lott said.

“This case is still an extremely active investigation,” Lott said.

Anyone if information is urged to contact Richland County investigators at 803-576-3000 or cobtact Crime Stoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC

Teddy Kulmala contributed to this report

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Sheriff said Moncks Corner man ‘gunned down’ area couple on Parklane Road."