Lancaster SC man, juvenile charged in home invasion where woman killed, teen hurt
A South Carolina man and a juvenile have been arrested for murder and other charges after a woman was killed and a teen hurt in a home invasion in Lancaster, officials said.
Kristopher Orlando Thomas, 21, of Lancaster, and a 15-year-old boy are charged in the Jan. 12 shootings, according to Doug Barfield, spokesman for the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office.
The juvenile arrested has not been identified because of his age.
Stephanie Johnson, 35, was killed in what Lancaster County Sheriff Barry Faile said was a burglary and attempted armed robbery during a home invasion. One of Johnson’s sons, 15, suffered serious injuries when he was shot, officials said.
Thomas and the arrested juvenile are each charged with murder, attempted murder, burglary, attempted armed robbery and weapons charges, according to deputies. Thomas also faces a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Thomas was arrested over the weekend after a pursuit by South Carolina police that included a State Law Enforcement Division helicopter, deputies and K-9 teams from Lancaster and York counties.
Thomas is being held at the Lancaster County jail without bail after an initial court appearance, documents show.
The juvenile was taken into custody the day after the incident and is in a S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice jail in Columbia, according to deputies.
Deputies: Robbery was the motive
Thomas and the juvenile allegedly attempted to rob a home on 15th Street in Lancaster when Johnson was fatally shot and one of her sons was wounded, according to a statement from the sheriff’s office. A man described as Johnson’s fiancee, and another of the victim’s sons were also in the house at the time, deputies said.
Thomas was armed with a gun and the teen had a baseball bat when they forced their way into the house before shots were fired, deputies said.
The man inside the house was beaten by Thomas and the juvenile during the struggle, deputies said. Thomas fired the gun during the struggle, deputies said in the statement.
What happens now?
It remains unclear if prosecutors in Lancaster County will seek to have the juvenile, who is charged with murder, prosecuted as an adult or if the juvenile’s case will remain in South Carolina Family Court. Sentencing for any conviction in Family Court ends at age 21.
Efforts to reach 6th Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman were unsuccessful Tuesday.
Under South Carolina law, prosecutors can seek to try juveniles as adults for some crimes. If a Family Court judge agrees to a waiver that allows the juvenile to be tried as an adult, prosecutors can seek adult punishment in an adult trial.
A conviction for murder as an adult carries a sentence of a minimum of 30 years in prison.
The juvenile who is charged with murder and other offenses is being represented by the 6th Circuit Public Defender’s Office, said William Frick, chief public defender.
Frick declined comment on the case.
Frick said it is likely that the public defender’s office will not represent Thomas because the office already has the juvenile as a client.
It is unclear if Thomas, the adult charged, has a lawyer.
This story was originally published January 17, 2023 at 1:07 PM.
