2 arrested, including highway patrol trooper, in death of 4-year-old

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. (WHNS/Gray News) - Two people, including a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, were arrested and charged in the death of a 4-year-old boy.

Oconee County Emergency Services were called to a home around 6:20 a.m. Friday for a cardiac arrest patient. The Oconee County Coroner’s Office was asked to respond a short time later.

According to the coroner, 4-year-old Isaiah Joseph Dionne was found unresponsive by his parents. Arrest warrants said the boy appeared underweight and malnourished.

Isaiah’s death was classified as a homicide.

Officials charged 30-year-old Joshua Emanuel Lamar Latimer and Destiny Shay Dionne with two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child and homicide by child abuse.

According to arrest warrants, Latimer and Dionne put Isaiah and a 2-year-old boy in “unreasonable risk of harm.”

Latimer was terminated from the South Carolina Highway Patrol after the agency learned of his arrest.