SC man who beat relative with tire iron faces new charge as victim dies, cops say
A South Carolina man was already in jail when one of his charges was upgraded to murder, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
That’s because a relative of his died from injuries the victim suffered in an Aug. 5 attack that landed 43-year-old Columbia resident Reginald Owens behind bars, the sheriff’s department said Monday night in a news release.
Owens was originally charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime and attempted murder, jail records show. The murder charge replaced the count of attempted murder after the victim died days after the attack, the sheriff’s department said in the release.
The Richland County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the victim.
Deputies got involved at about 2:30 p.m. Aug. 5 after receiving a request for assistance from Richland County EMS, according to the release. Deputies went to a home in the 800 block of Woodside Avenue, where they found Owens inside the residence along with members of EMS and the victim, the sheriff’s department said. Richland County records list Owens’ home in the 800 block of Woodside Avenue, which is in a part of Columbia between North Main Street and Fairfield Road, not far from Exit 70 on Interstate 20.
When deputies arrived, Owens was standing in the home’s living room while the EMS workers tended to a man on the ground in a bedroom, the sheriff’s department said in an incident report. The EMS workers told a deputy that they needed help getting the victim out of the home and for Owens to get out of their way, according to the incident report.
The victim suffered severe injuries to the upper body and appeared to be unconscious when he was taken by EMS to a local hospital, the sheriff’s department said.
Owens, who said that he had been in a fight with the victim, was brought outside and taken into custody while a deputy returned to the home and saw a pool of blood on the floor in the bedroom where the victim was found, according to the incident report.
When the deputy returned outside, Owens said there was a weapon under the kitchen table and a tire iron was recovered in a search, the sheriff’s department said. Additionally, when Owens was frisked deputies found multiple rings in his pants pockets, and one of them was covered with dried blood, according to the incident report.
Further investigation revealed that Owens had argued with the victim, who was a family member, the sheriff’s department said in the release. During the altercation, Owens attacked the victim with the tire iron and was arrested on the original charges, according to the release.
Information about why the family members argued was not available.
No other injuries were reported.
Although his bond was set at $40,000 on the original charges, Owens remained locked up in the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center when the victim died from injuries suffered in the attack, officials said. No bond has been set on the murder charge, jail records show.
Owens is scheduled to return to court on the murder charge on Oct. 31, according to judicial records.
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This story was originally published August 19, 2025 at 9:59 AM.
