Stepfather found guilty in Beaufort teen's death

A 43-year-old Yemassee man was sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday after being found guilty by a Beaufort County jury of fatally shooting his teenage stepson during an argument in July 2007.

Kevin Jerome Williams was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime at the conclusion of his two-day murder trial in Beaufort County Circuit Court.

Williams was accused of killing Rodney "Buck" Young, 18, during an argument July 9 outside their home on Newberry Circle in Yemassee. Williams shot the former Battery Creek High School football player in the upper thigh with a 12-gauge shotgun at close range, damaging Young’s femoral artery. The teenager was pronounced dead at Beaufort Memorial Hospital two hours later.