Chester suspect loses bond after Waffle House trip

A late-night jaunt to the Waffle House cost one of five alleged gang members prosecutors say were part of the November killing of Chester City Councilman Odell Williams at least two more months in jail after a judge ruled he violated bond curfew conditions.

Defense lawyers have alleged that Williams, 69, shot at the suspects as many as three times before Williams was shot in the head on Nov. 4, according to a confession from another of the co-defendants.

DeAngelo Roseboro, 20, charged with accessory to murder after the fact, was arrested after prosecutors say he was out after a 7:30 p.m. curfew, which was a condition of his Feb. 10 release on bond.

Police say Roseboro was at the Waffle House in Richburg around 3:30 a.m. March 7. He was a passenger in a car that led police on a chase to York County. Police also said they smelled marijuana in the car following the March 7 chase.

“Why the Waffle House?” Circuit Court Judge Brian Gibbons asked Roseboro on Thursday. “And in Richburg? Nothing good happens after midnight.”

Prosecutor Julie Hall said Roseboro, who was supposed to stay with family in Rock Hill while on bond, showed “blatant disregard” for bond and asked Gibbons to order that Roseboro stay in jail.

Roseboro’s lawyer, Leah Moody, said Roseboro admitted he violated curfew, but only went to the Waffle House to give someone a ride. She asked that Roseboro be given another chance with house arrest and electronic monitoring. Moody also pointed out that Roseboro is not accused of being the person who shot and killed Williams.

Gibbons balked at Roseboro’s rationale for being out in the middle of the night – in Chester County when he was supposed to be on curfew in York County – while free on bond in connection to a killing. Roseboro can petition for bond again in 60 days, Gibbons said, if the murder case hasn’t gone to trial.

Roseboro is accused of being in the vehicle before and after Williams was killed, and helping the alleged shooter, Christopher Moore, 18, flee after Williams died. Police say gang members made death threats against investigators in the case.

Roseboro had been free on $50,000 bond for a month, as had two of the other four alleged members of the Roundtree Circle Gang who are charged in connection with Williams’ death. Before being released in February, he had been jailed since his Nov. 10 arrest.

Prosecutors say the five men were planning to rob a rival gang on the day Williams, a retired Chester police officer and business owner, was killed. When Williams learned they were sitting in a truck near his business, prosecutors say, he chased them in his car for 3 miles in and around Chester.

Moore, who is jailed without bond, left the truck during the chase, lay in wait for Williams, then shot and killed him with an assault rifle, prosecutors have alleged. Roseboro and co-defendant Derrick Dixon, 20, then returned to pick up Moore, prosecutors say.

Moore is charged with murder and weapon-possession crimes. Roseboro, Buchanan, Dixon and Quinton McClinton, 26, are charged with accessory to murder. McClinton, who faces charges in a 2012 shooting as well, pleaded guilty to drug charges Tuesday and was sentenced to six months in prison.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Chester suspect loses bond after Waffle House trip."