Group conspired to kill before fatal nightclub shooting, SC police say
The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office charged four more people Tuesday in one the most violent shootings of 2020 in all of South Carolina.
The four, along with another charged earlier, made a “plan and scheme” to commit murder by shooting up the Seventh Lounge at 1695 Richland Ave. East just beyond the eastern end of the city of Aiken, according to warrants.
The four charged are:
- Emmanuel Lewis Oneal, 33, charged with murder, ten counts of attempted murder, weapon possession and criminal conspiracy.
- Tykendran Je Rhon Creech, 23, charged with accessory to a felony and criminal conspiracy.
- Monishia Teria Courtney, 27, charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.
- Lasonya Teresa Howard, 36, charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.
On Nov. 28 at about 12:30 a.m., an SUV pulled up to the lounge, according to authorities. Two men shot dozens of bullets with a handgun and rifle from the vehicle into the crowd that had gathered in the parking lot.
Thirty-year-old Craig Youmans Jr. was killed in the shooting and 17 others were wounded, according to authorities. The wounded victims were shot in the abdomen, feet and shoulders at close range, warrants said. One bullet grazed a person’s head.
Aiken deputies made the first arrest in the shooting on Dec. 17. Deputies charged 25-year-old Dustin Robert Williamson with murder, ten counts of attempted murder and weapon possession.
As the investigation continued, investigators found evidence that the five conspired to commit the shooting, according to the warrants. The warrants don’t elaborate about what the evidence was. Police haven’t given a motive for the shooting.
Police accuse Oneal and Williamson of being the trigger men. They, along with Howard, are jailed at the Aiken County Detention Center awaiting bond hearings.
Creech is being held in the detention center of a neighboring Georgia county where he was arrested while staying in a motel, police said. Police arrested Courtney in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she’s detained. The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office is awaiting extradition for both.
Seven police agencies have been involved with the case, including the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, a Florida police agency, a Georgia police agency and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
The ATF’s RAGE Unit, which investigates gangs in the Aiken and Augusta, Georgia region, is part of the investigation.
Another person was killed in a shooting at an apartment complex the day after the nightclub shooting. Aiken police said the shootings were likely connected. Police have not made an arrest in the apartment complex shooting yet, according to Aiken Department of Public Safety.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 4:40 PM.