Sheriff: Two charged in vicious attack on Vista employee after Columbia protests
The Richland County Sheriff’s Department charged two people in a vicious attack on a Vista business employee two weeks ago after some protesters damaged property in the Vista and other areas of Columbia, Sheriff Leon Lott said.
The department arrested 21-year-old Trechaun Rodreguez Belton and a 16-year-old who is unidentified by police because he is a minor.
“It would have probably been worse but we had good people there who surrounded (the victim) and tried to get him some help,” said Lott, who added the victim was “viciously attacked.”
He called the assault “cowardly.”
Deputies charged Belton with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, instigating a riot and aggravated breach of peace. The 16-year-old was charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, instigating a riot and aggravated breach of peace. Police are still looking for another man who Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said “stomped” on the victim’s head.
The charges were announced at a joint news conference Tuesday afternoon by Lott and Columbia Deputy Police Chief Melron Kelly.
The two suspects assaulted the Vista business employee on May 30, police said. The assault happened after some people in a protest at Columbia Police Department headquarters a few blocks away spilled into the Vista, according to police. Windows were shattered and police cars burned.
The demonstrations began that day as peaceful protests against racist policing after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
The victim came out of the business where he was working to check out what was going on, police said. The victim was assessing whether it was safe for other employees to come to work. He was not involved with the protest or any counter protest, Lott said.
While the victim made a phone call, people in the crowd began accusing him of calling the police, police said. Belton and the 16-year-old overheard the accusations and ran toward the victim, according to police
“Though Belton charged at the victim, it was the 16-year-old who struck him. Once on the ground, several people joined the attack,” police said in a statement.
The assault caused bleeding in the victim’s brain, according to police.
The statement said the 16-year-old was “one of dozens of agitators who hijacked the peaceful protests that took place earlier in the day,” and “he is a known gang member.”
Lott said that he, Kelly and Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook “can’t be prouder of the community.”
Community members called police to give tips that helped identify the suspects.
“This is what happens when citizens and our law enforcement partners come together to get the bad guys,” Kelly said.
Belton and the 16-year-old are from Orangeburg, Lott said.
Police arrested Belton in his hometown while the 16-year-old was arrested in Greenville.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office and the Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation and arrests.
The victim is still in serious condition with some amnesia and on bed rest at home, Lott said.
“Peaceful protests and the people who did that,” Lott said pointing to a video of the attack. “That’s completely different groups.”
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 4:32 PM.