Armed robbery? Prostitution? What happened to Bluffton man killed inside gated community?
A magistrate has thrown out armed robbery charges against three men accused in the killing of a Bluffton man in a gated community last year.
Beaufort County Magistrate Court Judge Nancy Sadler said Friday that deputies did not have probable cause to charge three S.C. men — Devante White, Jamal Coakley Jr. and Malik White — with armed robbery.
At a preliminary hearing for the three, Sadler upheld the other charges against the men, who each face one count of murder and kidnapping in the killing of Timothy Milliken, 45, in his Westbury Park home on Nov. 16, 2020.
Two of the men, Devante White and Coakley, also are charged with possession of a weapon in commission of a violent crime.
Attorneys for Malik White and Coakley declined to comment. Ashley Cornwell, a Mount Pleasant defense attorney for Devante White, did not respond to a request to comment.
Armed robbery
Sarah Barr, 17, of Summerville, S.C., is the fourth person charged with Milliken’s murder and kidnapping.
In testimony Friday, law enforcement officers clarified her role.
Barr and Milliken “made arrangements to agree to exchange sex for money,” said Sheriff’s Investigator William Weich, regarding obtained text messages between the two prior to the shooting.
That was why Milliken provided access to Barr to enter the gated community. Milliken went outside the gates of his Westbury Park neighborhood and got into a car with Barr and Devante White, 26, of Green Pond, S.C. All three drove back into Milliken’s neighborhood and parked in the driveway of his house.
According to Weich, Milliken was unaware that Jamal Coakley Jr., 22, of Dale, S.C., and Malik White, 22, of Beaufort, were hiding in the trunk of the car, with Coakley holding a revolver.
All three men were wearing face masks.
Once Milliken parked in his driveway and stepped out of the car, Devante White grabbed him, Weich said. White told Milliken he was a police officer and that he was arresting Milliken for prostitution.
They brought him near his backdoor, where they struggled.
Weich said Devante White shot Milliken after he tried to get away.
Even though Devante White is accused of pulling the trigger, the other three face murder charges as well under South Carolina’s “hand of one, hand of all” law.
In a previous court hearing, Weich said one of the men believed they were there to rob Milliken.
Coakley’s defense attorney argued that police did not provide enough evidence to prove that.
“There was no language used that an armed robbery was supposed to occur,” said Courtney Gibbes, his public defender on Friday. “I’ve heard no testimony that anything was taken at all.”
Sadler, the magistrate, agreed and dismissed the armed robbery charges for all three men.
Bomb squad and FBI
Once the Sheriff’s Office arrived at Westbury Park to respond to the report of a shooting, a bomb squad was called to sweep the home.
Cornwell, Devante White’s attorney, asked the Sheriff’s Office investigator whether the bomb squad was called in for explosive devices found in Milliken’s closet and attic.
“They were called out for suspicious items, none of which were identified as explosives or bomb-making material,” Weich said. “It was just suspicious to investigators at the time.”
He did not clarify what was suspicious.
Milliken had several cameras on the exterior and interior of his home, which gave police a full view of how the shooting occurred.
The FBI helped the Sheriff’s Office obtain access to the secure camera system and brought Milliken’s equipment to their laboratory for further analysis, Weich said.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the case.
The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute it.
This story was originally published March 15, 2021 at 3:14 PM.
