Port Royal man killed Friday had testified in January murder trial
A Port Royal man killed in a shooting Friday had testified in January against one of the three men accused of robbing him in a Burton mobile home park in 2012.
Antonio Brewer, 29, testified against Travis Polite during Polite's trial in connection with the September 2012 robbery that left one man dead, Gene Hood, Polite's public defender, confirmed Tuesday. Polite was sentenced to 39 years in prison after being convicted, but has since appealed, according to court records.
Brewer was killed by an unknown assailant as he sat in the driver's seat of his car around 5:30 a.m. Friday in the Port Royal Apartments parking lot on Grober Hill Road, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.
Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Bob Bromage said Tuesday he could not comment on the previous incident, but said investigators with the agency and the Port Royal Police Department are looking into all leads in Brewer's death. No suspects or motive in Brewer's death has been established, Bromage said.
Brewer's 2-year-old daughter and the girl's mother were also in the car Friday and were wounded. Both were transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital for treatment and released later that day.
Brewer was one of three victims in the 2012 robbery at Taylor Mobile Home Park in Burton. In that case, three men -- Polite, Brandon Singleton and Walter Tucker -- allegedly robbed Brewer and two other people at Brewer's home in the park.
According to a Sheriff's Office report, Tucker attacked and fatally shot Quantize Greer in the incident. He is scheduled to face trial in April, according to court records.
It was unclear Tuesday whether Brewer would have also been called to testify in that trial. 14th Circuit Solicitor's Office Deputy Solicitor Sean Thornton said he could not comment on a pending case.
Tucker has been in the Beaufort County Detention Center since October, when his bond was revoked. Attempts to reach Robert Ferguson, Tucker's attorney, on Tuesday were unsuccessful.
Singleton had his earlier bond revoked in June, but was again released in September, according to court records.
Anyone with information on Friday's shooting can call sheriff Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Fraser at 843-255-3416 or Port Royal police Sgt. Robert Bilyard at 843-986-2226. To report information anonymously, call S.C. Crime Stoppers at 888-274-6372.
Follow reporter Matt McNab at twitter.com/IPBG_Matt.
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- Sheriff's Office: No suspects, motive determined in deadly Port Royal Apartments shootings, March 23, 2015
This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Port Royal man killed Friday had testified in January murder trial."