The man police say fatally shot Heath Springs bait and tackle store owner Ronnie William Cairnes Sr. and was later found shot to death was to pay a court fine or start serving jail time Wednesday.
Darren Lee Winchester, 46, was scheduled to be in court at 10 a.m. Wednesday to pay a fine for driving under suspension, second offense, or serve a 60-day jail sentence, according to court documents.
That same day, Winchester also was to pay a fine or serve a 30-day sentence for an open container charge, the documents show.
Both charges stem from traffic violations Winchester received May 15. In both cases, he was tried in absence and found guilty, court documents note.
Wednesday morning, police say Winchester shot and killed 56-year-old Cairnes, who was found lying on his side in front of Cedar Creek Bait & Tackle store.
Before authorities had time to work the scene, Winchester fired at police. That shooting triggered a standoff of nearly six hours that ended when police found Winchester on a floor in his two-story home with a gunshot wound to his chest.
Family members said the fatal shooting stemmed from a feud that started more than a year ago when Winchester came in Cairnes' store drunk and Cairnes said he did not want a drunk in his store using foul language around customers.
Since that incident, police have responded to several calls regarding Winchester. Last year, police answered a disorderly conduct call, where Winchester cursed at a clerk and threw a beer at her, according to an incident report from the Lancaster County Sheriff's Office. The beer didn't hit the clerk but resulted in police banning Winchester from the store.
On April 10, 2005, police answered an intimidation and disturbing the peace call, during which police were told an intoxicated person -- later identified as Winchester -- was shooting into traffic on S.C. 97, another police report notes. Winchester told police he had been shooting at a target in his backyard away from traffic, the report notes.
Later that day, Winchester's neighbor, Donald Pate, came home and Winchester put a gun in his waistband, walked out into his yard and yelled at Pate, the report states.
Pate told police Winchester crossed the property line with his gun in his hand, threatened Pate and told him he would shoot him, according to the report.
On Thursday, Cairnes' family planned his funeral as his sister, Linda Stegall, spoke of one of his attributes.
"Ronnie was a friend to everyone," she said about Cairnes, whose friends on Thursday put a poster at his store and held a candlelight vigil in his honor.
"That's how much Ronnie was loved," she said.
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