2 Columbia men sentenced to life for Lexington County triple murder
Two Columbia men were sentenced to life in prison for the shooting deaths of three other men during a Dec. 17, 2019, home invasion in the St. Andrews area.
Jeremy S. Cornish, 41, and Justin Tyler Hopkins, 24, went to the Woodland Village Apartments near Bush River Road in Lexington County and approached an apartment where Branton Booker, 28, Sheldon Devon Livingston, 26, and Duwan Williams, 27, were, according to the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office, which announced the sentencing on Wednesday.
Booker was shot twice when he opened the door, and Cornish and Hopkins went inside the unit, the solicitor’s office said. Livingston was shot 12 times and Williams was shot four times while they were sleeping.
Cornish and Hopkins then rummaged through the apartment to look for items to steal, prosecutors say.
They then fled from the scene in a Chevy truck and were taken into custody several days later.
“A crime of this nature shocks the conscience of our community. We cannot tolerate violence in our neighborhoods and in our homes,” 11th Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard said in a news release. “Our office worked diligently to prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law.”
