Veteran killed during shoplifting incident at local Sears. Third suspect arrested
A third man has been charged in the death of an 81-year-old veteran who died last August while trying to stop people from shoplifting at a Columbia-area Sears store.
Ervan Matthew Harvey, 49, was charged with murder and strong armed robbery, according to a statement from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Harvey, along with Jeffrey Alan Simmons and Jason Randolph, was stealing two flat-screen TVs when they were confronted by Charles Duaine Hamilton, according to the statement. Hamilton was working as a loss prevention officer at the Sears on Two Notch Road.
The men shoved Hamilton onto a concrete floor, according to previous reports in The State. The Air Force veteran sustained a head wound, which he later died from.
The men left in a car with one of the TVs, which was caught on surveillance video, according to previous reports. Simmons and Randolph were apprehended and charged in 2017.
Harvey was arrested and taken to Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 3:10 PM.
