Bond revoked for teen who police say fled Meadowlake Park mass shooting with a gun
A teen who was already out on bond on weapons charges when he was arrested after Saturday’s mass shooting at Meadowlake Park is heading back to jail.
Ty’Quan Kelly was ordered into custody Wednesday after the $10,000 bond issued by a magistrate court judge following the Meadowlake Park attack was rescinded by Circuit Court Judge Robert Hood. The bond was revoked after a hearing at the Richland County Judicial Center.
“I find that you are a danger to the community,” Hood told Kelly, whose connection to the chaotic Saturday morning shooting remains unclear.
Explaining his decision, Hood referred to the prosecution’s argument that the 18-year-old, who arrived on crutches and remained seated throughout the proceedings because of a broken ankle, had been previously arrested on separate weapons charges on March 1 and April 16 and had been released on bond after those arrests. He will now be held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Assembled family members of Kelly broke into loud sobs as Hood revoked the bond. “You’ll be alright Ty’Quan!” someone yelled, as Kelly was led away limping between two bailiffs, one of whom carried Kelly’s crutches.
“It’s sad that we even have to be up here. This never should have got as far as a circuit judge,” Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at an impromptu press conference following the hearing. “That bond never should have been set at $10,000 after a third arrest in a very short period of time. It just demonstrates that our magistrate court system is a problem and that they are contributing to the crime and violence we have out in our community.”
Kelly was one of two teens arrested following the early Saturday shooting that turned a spontaneous after-prom party in the north Columbia park into a scene that Lott likened to a war zone. More than 50 shots from handguns and rifles were fired into the crowd, which included students from schools throughout the Midlands. Nine people were struck by gunfire. One other person was injured after being hit by a car and another suffered an unspecified hand injury.
Deputy Henry Dukes told the court he responded Saturday morning to a call that over a hundred juveniles were “using narcotics and being loud” at Meadowlake Park. He saw a dark colored Crown Victoria speed away from the park with no headlights on. As he turned on his blue lights and began to chase the car, Dukes said, he saw a gun be thrown from the passenger side window of the car where Kelly was riding followed by an extended magazine.
Dukes said that Kelly and the driver, Miquis Fulwiley, were both wearing black ski masks. Officers recovered a Glock 19 handgun following a K9 search. Kelly was charged with the unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of marijuana.
There is no indication yet whether Kelly or Fulwiley were involved in the shooting. Following the hearing, Lott said that his office was still testing the gun that was recovered along with dozens of shell casings and bullets fired from multiple weapons. The investigation is a “full court press” Lott said.
But so far, no motive for the shooting has emerged even as his team sorts mountains of physical evidence, interviews and videos from the events. Asked about evidence of Kelly’s connection to the shooting, Lott said there were a lot of other young people at the party who “didn’t have a mask on or guns with them.”
Kelly’s attorney asked that Hood assign electronic monitoring and home confinement.
“Blame for this shooting is being thrown at Ty’Quan and the driver of the car,” Kelly’s attorney, Jessica Sturgill, told to court. “To be clear, Ty’Quan had nothing to do with the shooting.”
Kelly was just one of hundreds of people fleeing from the park and he had not been charged with the shooting, Sturgill told the court.
She also cast doubt on how Kelly, who has a baby daughter due in September, could have been the shooter with his ankle, which was already brokenthe night of the shooting.
“If he could just be home he would be fine,” his mother, Tashambra Kelly, told the court. “He’s not a bad child.”
But Hood’s decision focused on Kelly’s recent arrests. On March 1, Kelly was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a narcotic with intention to distribute after he was seen leaving a “known drug trap house” on Devine Street, assistant solicitor Jack Johnson told the court. Kelly received a $2,500 bond at the time.
On April 16, Kelly received a $50,000 bond after a 911 caller said that he had blocked the doorway of her room and put a gun against her head, saying she couldn’t leave. When Kelly gave officers responding to the call permission to search his room, officers found an extended magazine hidden in his laundry basket and a Glock equipped with a “switch,” making it “fully automatic,” according to Johnson.
Kelly was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a stolen pistol and possession of a machine gun or a sawed-off shotgun or rifle.
“Three different guns, three different times,” Lott said. “Everybody is tired of this. Young people are tired of this.”
Asked about the so-called “constitutional carry” bill currently in committee at the State House that would allow the open carry of a firearm without a permit, Lott said “It scares me.”
“That’s kind of the opposite of what we’re trying to do, which is get less guns in the hands of people who don’t deserve to have guns in their hands.”
This story was originally published May 3, 2023 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Bond revoked for teen who police say fled Meadowlake Park mass shooting with a gun."