Death penalty sought against SC man accused of killing a Spartanburg County deputy

The solicitor in Spartanburg County has filed notice that he intends to seek the death penalty against the man accused of killing a deputy.

7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette filed the notice Thursday.

Spartanburg County Deputy Austin Aldridge, 25, was shot to death responding to a domestic violence call June 21.

Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright called it an ambush.

Duane Leslie Heard, 63, has been charged with murder.

Killing a law enforcement officer is one of the circumstances set out in South Carolina law where consideration of the death penalty is allowed. If Heard is found guilty of murder, a separate trial by the same jury takes place to determine punishment.

Aldridge had been with the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office for slightly more than two years when he went to a house on Chafee Road in Spartanburg. As Aldridge walked up to the door he was shot.

The suspect took Aldridge’s gun, taser and car keys and fled. Other officers pursued and Heard was shot twice. After he wrecked his car, he fled into the woods, where he was captured.

Heard was out on bond for another charge when the shooting occurred. He was arrested in October after a confrontation with a postal worker and charged with resisting arrest and person in the roadway.

Aldridge’s wife Jessica is expecting the couple’s first child in February.

A gofundme page set up for the family had raised $226,000 by Friday from more than 3,000 people.

This story was originally published July 8, 2022 at 9:57 AM with the headline "Death penalty sought against SC man accused of killing a Spartanburg County deputy."