Man wanted for double murder at Columbia store arrested in North Charleston, cops say
The man who has been wanted on murder charges for more than a month was arrested in South Carolina’s Lowcountry, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Wednesday.
James Jamar Toatley was taken into custody Tuesday night after he was tracked down at a home in North Charleston, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
Toatley, who turned 32 on Wednesday, is facing two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder for shooting into a vehicle with four people inside on Dec. 19 in the parking lot of the Motor City Market in Columbia, according to the release.
Corey Smith, 41, and Curtis Dinkins, 37, died after being shot multiple times in the parking lot of the Motor City Market in north Columbia, according to the Richland County Coroner’s Office.
Two other passengers — a man and a woman — were not injured by the gunfire, according to the sheriff’s department.
The shooting happened at about 2:40 a.m. outside the 24-hour convenience store at 5601 Fairfield Road, about a mile from Interstate 20, the sheriff’s department said.
Before the shooting, Toatley argued with Smith and Dinkins inside the store, deputies said. Smith and Dinkins left the Motor City Market in an attempt to defuse the situation, and headed to a parked car already occupied by a man and woman, according to the sheriff’s department.
They were followed by Toatley, who began shooting at them before he ran away, the sheriff’s department said.
Smith died at the scene, while Dinkins died at an area hospital, according to the coroner’s office.
Toatley was found by members of the Sheriff’s Fugitive Task Force and the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the release.
He’s being held at the Charleston County Detention Center, and will be brought to Richland County on Wednesday, the sheriff’s department said.
Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott thanked members of the community who provided information that led to Toatley’s arrest.
“He is a very dangerous individual who has a total disregard for human life. Two of the killings from our deadly December were at the hands of this man,” Sheriff Lott said. “Our county is a safer place because he has been arrested. You can run and hide but we’ll find you.”
There were 22 murders in Richland County in 2020, a slight uptick from 21 murders in 2019, and seven came in December, according to the sheriff’s department.
“I shake my head and ask ‘Why?’ and ‘How?’ we can stop the killing we’ve got in our community,” Lott said at a Jan. 11 news conference. “There are a wide range of motives behind the (2020) murders. ... One is too many.”
One of the killings in Richland County, a Dec. 21 incident where a 17-year-old was dropped off at a local hospital with a gunshot wound and later died, remains unsolved.
During the search for Toatley, a woman was arrested for helping the accused gunman escape law enforcement.
On Dec. 28, 2020, Bria Kierra Ruffin was charged with accessory after the fact to murder, the sheriff’s department said. The 26-year-old Columbia resident, who was arrested in Lexington County, helped Toatley avoid sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement officers, according to the sheriff’s department.
If convicted on the felony accessory charge, Ruffin could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, according to South Carolina law.
Prior to the shooting, Toatley was out on a $90,000 surety bond after an Aug. 23 arrest on a second-degree domestic violence charge.
He was accused of assaulting his girlfriend who was pregnant with his child by kicking her in the stomach, grabbing her neck, and hitting her, according to an incident report from the sheriff’s department.
In 2006, Toatley was arrested on weapons crimes for the sale or delivery of a pistol, but the charges were disposed without being prosecuted in 2011, Richland County court records show.
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This story was originally published January 27, 2021 at 12:09 PM.
