Four charged in SC shootout that left a 21-year-old bystander dead

About 117 shell casings were found in the parking lot of a Spartanburg apartment complex after a shootout between two groups of men that left an innocent bystander dead.

In a news conference Thursday, Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said the incident at Quail Pointe Apartments on March 13 was initially believed to be a call for service because people with firearms were in the parking lot.

Instead, shots were fired amid a large group of bystanders.

Paris Janai Kennedy, 21, was found dead in the parking lot.

Four men have been arrested and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.

Officials identified them as Zechariah James Utecht, 19, of Greer; Tyrease Sherrod Martinez, 21, of Taylors; Napoleon Demajcea Rhodes, 20, of Spartanburg; and Seven Terrell Keenon, 20, of Duncan.

Martinez, Rhodes and Keenon are being held in the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office Detention Center. Utecht is in custody in Alpina, Michigan, and is scheduled to have an extradition hearing in Michigan on April 14.