Sheriff: Suspect in 5 S.C. murders caught after armed robbery
INMAN, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - The sheriff of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, said a suspect is in custody after five people were killed in the “largest single murder in Spartanburg County.”
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office, the sheriff’s office and the Inman Police Department responded to an emergency call at a home Sunday evening.
The coroner said four men were found shot to death in the home, and one man with gunshot wounds passed away in surgery at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center.
The coroner identified the victims as:
- 37-year-old Thomas Anderson of Bobo Drive
- 32-year-old Adam Morley of Bobo Drive
- 59-year-old Mark Hewitt, who was staying at the house at the time of the incident
- 49-year-old James Derek Baldwin, who was also staying at the house at the time of the incident
- 19-year-old Roman Christean Megael Rocha, the victim who passed away during surgery following the incident
WRDW reports that the suspect, James Douglas Drayton, entered a convenience store near Waynesboro, Georgia, around 4:25 a.m. on Monday while armed with a gun and took a clerk from the kitchen to the cash register, where he demanded money, according to authorities.
He fled with cash and was spotted by Burke County, Georgia, law enforcement, who chased him, authorities said.
Officials said Drayton wrecked his car and led them on a “lengthy foot chase.”
Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright said after the quintuple homicide, Drayton admitted to committing an armed robbery in Burke County with the murder weapon. He is facing multiple charges for the incident.
Officials said Drayton had been living at the house where the victims were found for about two weeks before the incident.
When Drayton was apprehended, he told law enforcement he had been using methamphetamine and hadn’t slept in four days. Wright added that Drayton fully confessed to the incident and was able to give specific details about the victims.
Wright said he hopes the case against Drayton, who is charged with five counts of murder, fits the criteria for the death penalty.
Drayton is currently charged with four counts of homicide and four counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. According to his warrants, he reportedly shot each of the victims multiple times.
He is currently being held in the Burke County detention center. It is unknown when he will be extradited back to Spartanburg County.
Copyright 2022 WHNS via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. WRDW contributed to this report.
