Teen was killed in Richland County and now two people are in jail, sheriff says
A week after a South Carolina teenager was killed in a shooting, two people have been charged with murder, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
While 17-year-old Jordan Lemmon was charged with murder and other crimes a day after the Nov. 11 shooting, it wasn’t until Wednesday that 21-year-old Semieon Helton-Hill was arrested on the same count, the sheriff’s department said in a news release.
Helton-Hill was also charged with criminal conspiracy, according to the release.
The charges follow the shooting death of the victim, who was identified by the Richland County Coroner’s Office as 18-year-old Columbia resident Dion Briggs.
At about 7 p.m. Nov. 11, deputies responded to reports of a shooting in the 1700 block of Nearview Drive, the sheriff’s department said. That’s just west of Percival Road and Interstate 77 in northeast Columbia.
Deputies found Briggs unresponsive in front of a home, according to the sheriff’s department. The teen, who had been shot in the upper body, died at the scene, the sheriff’s department said.
An investigation showed that Briggs was trying to buy a gun from Lemmon, according to the sheriff’s department. During the interaction, Lemmon shot and killed the victim then left the area before deputies arrived, the sheriff’s department said.
An investigation revealed that Helton-Hill was the driver of the vehicle during the deadly shooting, the sheriff’s department said in Wednesday’s release.
Early Wednesday morning, Helton-Hill was located by the sheriff’s department’s Fugitive Task Force at a family member’s home in Sumter, according to the release. Helton-Hill was taken into custody and booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia, the sheriff’s department said.
During a search of the relative’s home, investigators found two guns, and one of them had been reported stolen, according to the release.
Bond has not been set for either Helton-Hill or Lemmon, and both remain behind bars in the Columbia jail, records show.
Lemmon, who was identified as the shooter, was taken into custody following a Nov. 12 traffic stop in Sumter, the sheriff’s department said. Despite his age, Lemmon was charged as an adult with murder, criminal conspiracy, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a handgun under 18, the sheriff’s department said.
The sheriff’s department said it does not believe anybody else was involved in the shooting.
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREThis is a breaking news story
In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.
