Lancaster man pleads guilty, sentenced in fatal shooting of girlfriend’s mother
A Lancaster man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend’s mother, according to prosecutors and court records.
Curtis William Townsend IV, 24, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Lancaster County criminal court under an Alford plea for the killing of Takeisha Massey, 38, in October 2021, said prosecutor Melissa McGinnis, of the 6th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
South Carolina Circuit Judge Bill McKinnon sentenced Townsend to 40 years in the S.C. Department of Corrections for the murder conviction, court records show. A conviction for murder carries a minimum of 30 years under South Carolina law.
The victim was the mother of Townsend’s girlfriend, McGinnis said. The victim was shot at a residence on Caroline Court after an argument, McGinnis said.
Police and prosecutors said the victim was shot several times. Townsend was arrested outside the residence shortly after the shooting, officials said.
McGinnis and Luck Campbell prosecuted the case.
A trial started Monday but Townsend pleaded guilty Tuesday, according to McGinnis and a statement from Randy Newman, 6th Circuit Solicitor.
Townsend pleaded guilty under what is called an Alford plea, according to McGinnis the prosecutor.
In an Alford plea, a defendant does not have to admit guilt, but accepts that if the case went to trial he would likely be found guilty, according to prosecutors. For sentencing, an Alford plea is treated the same as a guilty plea, South Carolina law shows.
