‘Families are crushed’: Half-brothers sentenced in 2017 murder of St. Helena man, nephew
Three years after the killing of a St. Helena Island uncle and nephew, the final two people accused in their murder were sent to prison Monday.
Half-brothers Nashon Pringle, 21, and Raheem Bennett, 19, both of St. Helena, were sentenced to 20 years and 18 years, respectively, on charges of voluntary manslaughter.
They previously pleaded guilty to taking part in the killing of Robert Blanding, 24, and his nephew, Chaz Blanding, 19, in November 2017.
On Monday morning, family members and the brothers’ defense attorneys testified at the Beaufort County courthouse, asking 14th Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen to give Bennett and Pringle lower sentences.
Shamar Bennett, cousin of Raheem Bennett, asked the judge to consider that his cousin was 16 and a 10th grader at Beaufort High School at the time of the crime. He said Bennett was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, faced years of an unstable housing situation, and fell in with the wrong crowd.
“He is not a cold-blooded killer,” said Shamar Bennett. “He’s a victim of circumstance.”
Bennett was the first one to fire a shot, and it hit and killed Chaz Blanding.
Mullen said she was sympathetic but that she had to think of the Blanding family.
“I hear everyone’s view, but I have two men dead,” the judge said. “Young people today don’t understand that guns kill. ... they don’t understand that families are crushed.”
The night of November 21
Monday’s sentencing revealed the complicated events of Nov. 21, 2017, and why it was difficult for prosecutors to make a case.
Most of what the Solicitor’s Office heard about that night were inconsistent accounts from the five defendants. There was little to no physical evidence and no other witnesses.
It was dark and rainy that night. Symone Jones, now 23, of Beaufort drove the two Blandings to F&B Road, said Assistant Solicitor Mary Jones. It’s a dirt road by Beaufort High School, a known spot to smoke marijuana and hang out, referred to as “The Cut.”
Earlier, Symone Jones devised a plan for them to hold up Robert Blanding and steal money they believed he had. A defense attorney for Bennett said they were high on Xanax and marijuana at the time.
Symone Jones knew Blanding and picked him up to bring him to “The Cut,” where three other defendants — Raheem Bennett, Gerard Daise and Nashon Pringle — were waiting.
Robert’s nephew, Chaz Blanding, tagged along. He “was not supposed to be there,” said Jones, the prosecutor.
The car pulled up to the end of the road.
The three shooters stood outside Robert Blanding’s door, and one of them opened it. Jones said Raheem Bennett carried a revolver and was pointing it at the car.
He pulled the trigger. The shot missed Robert Blanding and hit his nephew in the neck in the backseat.
Robert Blanding exited the passenger seat and ran. Though the testimony was mixed as to who fired how many shots, Jones said, no one disputed that Gerard Daise and Nashon Pringle began firing at Blanding.
Blanding was found with nine gunshot wounds.
They left Robert Blanding’s body there. Law enforcement officers found it the next day.
Chaz Blanding was still alive at the time and severely injured in the car, according to Lauren Carroway, Bennett’s public defender. She said Symone Jones picked up another co-defendant, Channon Preston, rather than take Chaz Blanding to the hospital.
He bled to death in the back of the car, she said.
His body was found about 10 days later near Simmons Road on St. Helena.
Sentencing
Gerard Daise’s trial in November ended in a hung jury and a mistrial due to witnesses “impugning their credibility.”
Daise’s charges were dropped as a result. The Solicitor’s Office said it wouldn’t be able to provide new evidence.
Channon Preston’s charges were dropped for the same reason.
In February, Symone Jones was sentenced to 11 years in prison for accessory to murder after the fact.
On Monday, half-brothers Bennett and Pringle were the remaining two to be sentenced.
Carroway, representing Bennett, said he was a good kid who fired one shot in the dark blindly, and it hit Chaz Blanding.
Pringle’s defense attorney, Christopher Gibbs, painted a different picture.
“Mr. Bennett wanted to make a name for himself,” Gibbs said. He asked for fair treatment for his client.
Ultimately, Judge Mullen reduced Bennett’s sentence to two years less than his half-brother.
“You were 16 years old at the time, and that is significant,” said Mullen.
“My question is why is a 16-year-old boy in a school uniform in a situation like this?” she said. “Your shot killed Chaz Blanding.”
