Lott doesn’t believe Benedict instructor pulled gun 1st

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said he doesn’t believe what a 24-year-old suspect told Daytona Beach police that he was forced to shoot a Benedict College instructor after the man pulled a gun on him for not having gas money in payment for the ride he offered the suspect.

Lott said Donald Harper Jr. is still in Daytona Beach after confessing to killing 34-year-old Randall Brown in Richland County on Sunday. He is being held while an extradition hearing is being scheduled some time next week that will determine if Harper will return to South Carolina to face a murder charge in Richland County. If he fights extradition, Harper could stay in Florida to face two counts of fugitive of justice and one count of attempting to elude police with serious injury or death.

Harper allegedly took Brown’s vehicle on a joy ride to Florida with his 21-year-old friend for spring break after Harper allegedly killed Brown. The two then led police on a high-speed chase which ended in a crash that knocked Cole unconscious and in critical condition. Police later found Harper in a swamp not far from where the accident occurred.

A South Carolina Law Enforcement Division background check revealed that Donald Harper Jr. has been convicted of charges relating to first and second-degree burglary, possession and sale of a stolen gun and violation of probation. He was also charged in 2012 for two counts of criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and two counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said Harper had just recently gotten out of jail in November, but did not say why he was in jail before his release.

Lott said so far investigators have not located a second firearm that Harper said Brown used to try to get gas money from Harper. Lott also said the motive for the killing is also still unclear at this time.

“Eventually he will be brought back here to face justice,” Lott said.

According to Lott, Richland County sheriff’s deputies responded to the 5000 block of Brickyard Road at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday to reports of a man lying in the roadway. When they arrived, they found Brown with gunshot wounds to the upper body. He was later pronounced dead at the scene by the Richland County Coroner’s Office.

Lott said it appeared to investigators that Brown was killed and then dropped off at the location where deputies found him. Family members said the last time they had contact with him was just after 1 a.m. that morning. Deputies also discovered that his vehicle, a blue Jeep SUV, was also missing.

After identifying Harper as the main suspect, Lott said Richland County investigators were sent to Bowman, S.C. following leads and were talking with people in a yard when the they observed the stolen vehicle drive by. The vehicle then drove by a second time before investigators decided to follow the vehicle which led them on a high-speed chase. Investigators said they lost the vehicle somewhere in the area of I-26.

Harper, and his 21-year-old friend Daquan Cole who he picked up sometime before being spotted in Bowman, were then found sleeping in the vehicle by a Daytona Beach police officer. When the officer ran the license plate number through a database, the vehicle was reported to have been stolen. The office attempted to make contact with Harper and Cole, but Harper drove away and led police on a high-speed chase.

Harper lost control of the vehicle and crashed before fleeing the scene, leaving Cole in the vehicle unconscious. Daytona Beach police officers located Harper shortly after his attempted escape. When he was taken into custody, Harper asked to speak with “the man in charge,” according to a statement released by police.

Lott said charges may be forth coming for for Cole in connection with the case.

This story was originally published March 25, 2015 at 5:26 PM.