22-year-old’s body was found on side of the road, now a man is arrested, SC police say
Weeks after a 22-year-old’s body was found on the side of a Richland County road an arrest has been made, according to the Columbia Police Department.
On Monday, 40-year-old James Gilmore was charged with hit-and-run with death as well as failure to give information and render aid, police said Monday in a news release. Gilmore was also charged with driving under suspension and an uninsured motor vehicle fee violation, jail records show.
No bond has been set and Gilmore remains behind bars at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, according to jail records.
The charges are connected to the death of Columbia resident Xavier Jackson, who was previously identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office.
On Oct. 7, Gilmore was driving in the 3400 block of Bluff Road when he hit Jackson, who police said was walking east along the road that’s near Exit 5 on Interstate 77.
Jackson’s body was found Oct. 8, according to the release.
Several witnesses told police they saw a pickup truck drive off the road and onto the grassy shoulder of Bluff Road where Jackson was hit, police said. Gilmore is accused of then leaving the scene of the crime, and not rendering aid to the victim or notifying police about the incident, according to the release.
Officers found key pieces of evidence at the scene that were collected and processed, and the pickup Gilmore was driving during the crime, a blue Chevrolet, was located near the crime scene on the same day as the collision, police said.
Members of the police department’s traffic safety unit as well as its violent crimes against persons unit investigated the death.
At the time of the crash, Gilmore was out on bond following an April 12 arrest on a drug charge, Richland County court records show. Gilmore posted a $5,000 bond after being charged with drug possession (1 ounce or less of marijuana), according to court records.
In the past 17 years, Gilmore has been arrested on multiple charges, including several traffic violations, court records show.
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