Body was found in the road and man is charged with murder, Columbia police say
Days after a dead body was found in the road at an apartment complex in South Carolina a man was arrested, according to the Columbia Police Department.
Tony Middleton, 35, was charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a weapon by a prohibited person, police said Monday in a news release.
The charges are connected to a fatal shooting Dec. 26, according to the release.
It was just minutes after Christmas had ended, at about 12:30 a.m. Dec. 26, when officers responded to a shooting in the 7000 block of Bailey Street, which is the Colony Apartments, according to police. The apartment complex is by the intersection of West Beltline Boulevard and Farrow Road, not far from the intersection of Harden Street and Colonial Drive.
Officers found a man in the road with no signs of life, according to the release. EMS also arrived and pronounced him dead, police said. The Richland County Coroner’s Office has not publicly identified the victim.
No other injuries were reported.
An investigation led to the arrest of Middleton, who was taken into custody without incident Monday on Santee Avenue by members of the police department’s fugitive team, according to the release. That’s about 3 miles from the Colony Apartments.
A gun was also recovered during the arrest, and officers are trying to determine if it’s the same weapon that was used to kill the victim, police said.
While Middleton was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, police said that investigators are trying to determine a motive for the gunfire. But it’s believed the shooting stemmed from a conflict between the two acquaintances, according to the release.
Middleton remains behind bars while awaiting a bond hearing scheduled for Tuesday, Richland County court records show. The Columbia resident is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 27, 2026, according to judicial records.
A history of violence
There have been multiple shootings, including some fatal, in recent years at the Colony Apartments.
In January, one person was killed and two others were injured in two shootings in as many days at the apartment complex, police reported.
In May 2024, a 23-year-old man was shot at the apartment complex and later died at an area hospital, according to police.
On March 17, 2024, a woman was injured in a shooting at the apartment complex, police said.
During a March 2, 2024, shooting at the complex, a man was hit by gunfire in the upper body and was in critical condition when he was taken to an area hospital, police said.
In August 2023, a 19-year-old was hospitalized after being shot in the upper body and was found outside the apartment complex, according to police.
A woman was killed in a shooting at the apartment complex in December 2022, police said.
In June 2022, a man was arrested after shooting two people following an argument at the apartment complex, police said.
Multiple law enforcement agencies sent officers to the complex in January 2022 in a search for a man wanted on multiple charges, including a gun-related crime.
On Nov. 1, 2021, a 24-year-old man was shot in the upper body at the apartment complex and had money stolen from his pockets.
Months earlier, in May 2021, one man was killed and another was hurt in a shooting at the Colony Apartments, police said.
On March 3, 2021, a woman was charged after her 3-year-old son shot himself in the head while in one of the apartments at the complex, according to police.
In 2019, a man killed a woman at the complex before turning the gun on himself, police said.
In addition to the violence, in 2022, the complex also was accused by the city of Columbia of struggling to provide basic services to some residents, including running water and heat. Problems with carbon monoxide and other issues also have been reported.
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