70-year-old who shot Lexington County deputy charged with attempted murder
A 70-year-old man who shot a Lexington County Sheriff’s deputy before an hours-long standoff with law enforcement was charged with attempted murder, among other crimes, the South Carolina law Enforcement Division said Monday.
In addition to attempted murder, Mark Louis Cote was charged with domestic violence of a high and aggravated mature, along with malicious injury personal property (value more than $2,000), SLED spokesman Tommy Crosby said in a news release.
The shooting happened on Sept. 5, in the Manchester Park subdivision of Lexington County. That’s near Old Barnwell Road the area of Red Bank to the east, roughly six miles south of I-20.
Shortly after 4:30 p.m., a deputy responding to a domestic incident suffered a gunshot wound to the upper body, according to the sheriff’s department. The deputy was taken to an area hospital, where his non-life threatening injuries were treated and he was released, according to the sheriff’s department.
No other law enforcement officers were injured in the incident, Crosby said.
A long standoff and overnight negotiation followed, until Cote was taken from a barricaded home after 3 a.m., according to the sheriff’s department.
Cote remains behind bars at the Lexington County Detention Center after his bond was denied, jail records show.
SLED investigated the case at the request of the sheriff’s department, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute Cote.
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