SC mayor calls on judge to keep a man accused of attempted murder in jail
The Forest Acres mayor is calling on a judge and a solicitor to keep a man with a string of weapon charges behind bars following a shooting Monday.
In a statement on social media Tuesday, Mayor Thomas Andrews said Ty’Quan Kelly — accused of firing into a vehicle full of passengers — is “a menace to the Midlands,” with a slew of previous gun charges that were either dismissed or resulted in probation.
Andrews is now asking the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office to prosecute Kelly “or demand a sentence that will keep our community safe.
“We call on a judge to sentence him appropriately. We do not have room in our community for someone like this,” Andrews said in a post on Facebook. “He belongs behind bars.”
Kelly is accused of shooting into a moving vehicle on Monday, prompting several nearby schools to be locked down.
Police say Kelly fired into the car near the intersection of Bethel Church and Covenant roads.
Officers found the vehicle was struck by gunfire while leaving Ravenwood Hills Apartments and stopped about a mile away at Bradley Elementary School, according to a news release.
On Tuesday, Kelly was charged with charged with two counts of attempted murder, discharging a firearm into a vehicle, aggravated breach of peace and unlawful carrying of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to police.
Andrews said the shooting should’ve never happened in light of Kelly’s extensive criminal past.
“We know he was connected to the April 2023 Meadowlake Park shooting,” Andrews said in the statement. “However, his criminal past goes deeper.”
In April 2023, nearly a dozen people, most of them teenagers, were injured in an early Saturday shooting when multiple after-prom parties converged on Meadowlake Park in Richland County. Eleven people were injured and nine were shot, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Office.
Kelly was charged with possession of a handgun after deputies saw a gun and magazine being tossed from the window of the car he was riding in following the shooting. He was also charged with possession of marijuana. He ultimately received probation and was released in January 2024, according to court records.
Prior to the Meadowlake shooting, in March 2023, Kelly was charged with unlawful carrying of a pistol and possession of a narcotic with intention to distribute. He was sentenced to probation.
A month later, Kelly was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a stolen pistol and possession of a machine gun or a sawed-off shotgun or rifle on April 16 after a 911 caller said that he had blocked the doorway of her room and put a gun against her head. For this, Kelly also received probation.
In April 2024, Kelly was slapped with two other weapons charges that were dismissed by the solicitor’s office.
“Now, (Kelly) is charged with multiple counts of attempted murder,” Andrews said on Facebook. “Our law enforcement is catching criminals while our court system is releasing them. As Kelly waits a bond hearing, we ask that bond be denied.”
