Lady’s Island man guilty in box cutter attack. He ‘hunted down’ woman over motel bill
A Lady’s Island man who attacked a woman with a box cutter in a dispute over a motel room bill has been convicted of attempted murder, the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
A Beaufort County General Sessions Court jury found Demetrius Deon Thompson, 43, guilty Thursday of attacking a St. Helena Island woman in December 2020, according to a news release from the Solicitor’s Office. Thompson also was convicted of possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime.
Circuit Judge Carmen Mullen sentenced Thompson Friday to 12 years in prison for the attempted murder and five years for the weapon charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
“Mr. Thompson hunted down his victim to attack her over the bill for a motel room,” Assistant Solicitor Daniel Gourley, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement. “His violent reaction and his history of criminal behavior makes it clear Mr. Thompson is a danger to the community and needs to be off the streets.”
Thompson and the woman stayed together in a Port Royal motel on Dec. 4, 2020, authorities said. The two quarreled over who would pay for a second night’s stay, and Thompson told authorities that the woman, while he was still sleeping, departed the next morning without leaving money for an additional night.
Angered, Thompson left the room with a box cutter and began looking for the woman, authorities said. He found her walking with another man along a road near the Beaufort High School football stadium on Lady’s Island. Thompson confronted her, then slashed her neck with the box cutter, the statement said.
The woman was treated at Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s officers located Thompson shortly after the attack, and he led them to the box cutter, which had the victim’s blood and hair on it.
Thompson’s criminal history includes convictions for trespassing, possession of marijuana, assault and battery, sale or delivery of cocaine and sex-offender registry violations, the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said.
Gourley called 11 witnesses during the two-day trial at the Beaufort County Courthouse.
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 10:34 AM.
