2 men charged with murder in fatal West Columbia armed robbery

Lexington County authorities have charged 2 men with murder, attempted murder and armed robbery following a shooting August 9th at the Rolling Meadows mobile home park in West Columbia.

Ricky Lamont Esaw and Wilfred Akeen Pitts, Jr. were already in jail on other charges at the time of their arrests, Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said in a news release.

Deputies were sent to the mobile home park on the 3900 block of Charleston Highway Sunday evening in response to a shooting. They found two victims, 45-year-old Hector Vasquez and his teenage son, both of whom had been robbed and shot. The elder Vasquez later died while in surgery for a gunshot wound to the chest, Lexington County coroner Margaret Fisher said.

Vasquez’s teenage son was treated and released with minor injuries, Fisher said.

Esaw shot the elder Vasquez after robbing him, and Pitts shot the teenaged boy, the warrants allege.

“Our detectives recovered an item from the crime scene that Pitts says belongs to him,” Koon said. “He also admitted to being at the scene with Esaw at the time of the robbery and shooting.

This story was originally published August 14, 2015 at 5:55 PM.