Coroner identifies Columbia youngster killed while helping mother of best friend move

Note: In October 2020, Curtis Hicks was found not guilty of all charges, according to court records.

The young man who was killed while helping the mother of his best friend move has been identified.

DAngelo Jamal Perry, 20, was identified by Richland County Coroner Gary Watts, who performed an autopsy and determined the cause of death to be due to a gunshot wound to the upper torso.

The man who allegedly shot Perry and one other person, on Old Manor Road just off Broad River Road near Interstate 20, is wanted by the Richland County Sheriff’s Department. Curtis Hicks is wanted on one count of murder in connection with the fatal double-shooting.

Deputies responded around 10 a.m. and found two male victims with gunshot wounds, the sheriff’s department said in a release. They were taken to Palmetto Health Richland hospital, where Perry was pronounced dead at 11:21 a.m.

The second victim continues to recover.

Perry, who turned 20 about a month ago, was helping his best friend’s mother move out of a home, the sheriff’s department said in a tweet Saturday. Hicks also shot the woman’s son, deputies said.

“Investigators determined that the surviving victim’s mother was dating Hicks,” the release states. “She ended the relationship and had her son and his friend assist with removing her belongings from the residence.”

Hicks fled in a rented black 2017 Toyota Camry with S.C. tag NFS-273.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the incident.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC, or click or tap here for the link.

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Coroner identifies Columbia youngster killed while helping mother of best friend move."