Man who shot victim in moving vehicle goes to prison, SC prosecutor says
A man is going to prison for decades following a deadly shooting, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
On Tuesday, Johnny Fletcher Jr. pleaded guilty to murder in the 2023 death of Nicholas Bonepart, the solicitor’s office said Thursday in a news release.
Judge Christopher Taylor sentenced Fletcher to 40 years in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison, according to the release.
The conviction is connected to an Aug. 5, 2023, shooting, the solictor’s office said.
Officers with the Columbia Police Department responded to reports of a shooting in the 2100 block of Waverly Street, where they found the 32-year-old Bonepart unresponsive in the driver’s seat of his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the release. Bonepart was pronounced dead at the scene, which is Benedict College’s Charles W. Johnson Stadium.
Police said the incident was a drug deal gone bad, with it escalating from an attempted robbery to a murder.
Witnesses said Fletcher attempted to rob Bonepart and demanded that he empty his pockets, according to the solicitor’s office. When Bonepart tried to escape in his vehicle, Fletcher fired into the car and gunfire hit Bonepart at least five times, the solicitor’s office said.
Days after the shooting the 47-year-old Fletcher was arrested by police and members of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant Solicitor Samuel McGlothin led the prosecution for the solicitor’s office. Attorney Ola Johnson was listed as Fletcher’s attorney, Richland County court records show.
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