Three juveniles, one adult, charged in connection with the death of a Lancaster teen
Four South Carolina males, including one adult and three juveniles, are charged with murder in the shooting death of a 15-year-old Lancaster girl, officials said.
The girl, Jashawna Coleman, was an “innocent victim” who was shot Sunday while on the couch in a relative’s apartment in Kershaw, officials said. The town of Kershaw is in southern Lancaster County.
The shooting is believed to have stemmed from a dispute between rival groups over purported territory at the apartment complex, said Doug Barfield, spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
“This is a shooting involving two different groups that consider themselves gangs,” Barfield said.
Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile told the media in an earlier press conference that it is believed one group was the intended target of the other.
The victim had no connection with either group, Barfield said. The victim is believed to have been hit by a bullet that went through the wall of an apartment, Barfield said.
“She was at a relative’s home on a Saturday night and was shot,” Barfield said.
The shots were believed to have been fired from a car near the apartment building, Faile said in a statement.
Surveillance video from area businesses, witness statements, and other evidence led to the car and the eventual arrest of the four suspects after searches of three houses in Kershaw, Faile said in a statement.
The suspects
The four suspects facing murder and weapons charges are an adult age 20, and three juveniles ages 16, 16, and 15, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office.
The names of the three juveniles have not been released because of their ages.
The adult is Antonyio Gary Johnson, 20, of Camden, Faile said. Camden is in Kershaw County, S.C.
Johnson is being held at the Lancaster County jail without bail.
The 15-year-old suspect also is from Camden, and the two 16-year-old suspects are from the Kershaw area of Lancaster County, Barfield said.
All three juveniles are in the custody of the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice in Columbia, according to officials.
The three juveniles currently face charges in South Carolina Family Court in Lancaster County. Punishment for any criminal conviction in Family Court can extend only to age 21.
Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman, Lancaster County’s top prosecutor, said after the news conference his office is evaluating whether to try the three juveniles as adults.
“We will go through the process of evaluation and then make a determination,” Newman said.
To try the juveniles as adults, prosecutors would have to file a petition with the court. There would then be court hearings and any waiver up to adult court would require an order from a Family Court judge.
Guns among young people
Barfield, the sheriff’s office spokesman who is a former prosecutor, said four guns were recovered from two houses that were searched. Weapons testing, including ballistics and federal weapons checks with the ATF, remains ongoing, Barfield said.
It is illegal in South Carolina for anyone under age 18 to possess a handgun.
Faile called the shooting a senseless tragedy.
The case, including where the guns came from, is being investigated by Lancaster deputies, the Kershaw County Sheriff’s Office, State Law Enforcement Division, and federal Department of Homeland Security.
This story was originally published September 29, 2022 at 4:58 PM.
