York Co. deputy who shot, killed disturbance suspect identified

The York County Sheriff’s Office has identified the deputy who fatally shot and killed a domestic violence suspect Friday.

The deputy, Gary Pence, has been on administrative leave since Friday as the State Law Enforcement Division investigates the shooting. Pence has been a deputy since October 2016.

Thom Berry, a SLED spokesman, said the investigation is ongoing and had no timetable for when agents would present their findings to law enforcement and prosecutors.

The incident happened at a home on Old Limestone Road north of York around 4 a.m. Friday. Trent Fondren, 33, was killed in the shooting. Deputies said officers were responding to a civil disturbance at the home.

The shooting near York was the third time in two months officers in York County have been involved in shooting incidents. Police in Rock Hill shot a Rock Hill man, Jacob Dean Patterson, 30 in an officer-involved shooting on Thanksgiving Day after neighbors reported the man standing on his porch with a gun.

Rock Hill police responded to that incident, and SWAT team was called in. The resident, Jacob Dean Patterson, 30, was transported to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Charges are pending.

York County sheriff’s deputies and Clover police officers fired shots at a man in a Oct. 19 police chase spanning across state lines. The man was shot and killed by officers in Kings Mountain, N.C.

This story was originally published December 4, 2017 at 4:55 PM with the headline "York Co. deputy who shot, killed disturbance suspect identified."