Drug robbery gone wrong? Court details reveal what led to St. Helena killing last year
A St. Helena Island man died in November in a shooting after two men tried to rob him of marijuana he sold, according to police testimony Friday.
Steven Glover, 30, of St. Helena was killed in a shooting on Nov. 18, 2020.
At a court hearing Friday to determine whether police had probable cause for the charges, Staff Sgt. Todd Duncan with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said Channon Preston, 21, of St. Helena, and Xavier Polite, 20, of Seabrook shot and killed Glover after they tried to rob him.
One day after the shooting, the two men were charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a weapon in commission of a violent crime.
Around 1 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2020., the Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a gunshot victim at a home on Stonewood Road.
It was Glover, who had multiple gunshot wounds, Duncan said.
A man in the home said “Glizzy,” a known moniker for Preston, shot Glover.
Duncan said police learned that Polite was with Preston during the shooting, too.
The events were also caught on an outdoor camera, and the man shared the clips with the Sheriff’s Office.
“They were going there to steal the drugs,” Duncan said.
Preston and Polite would buy marijuana from Glover typically, Duncan said, but the plan this time was to rob him.
They exchanged fire with Glover and the man in the home.
Ashley Cornwell, a Mount Pleasant-based attorney who represented Preston, argued that the men did not have intent, or “malice aforethought,” requirements for a murder charge.
Beaufort County Magistrate Judge Frederick Corley disagreed, saying police found “ample probable cause for murder” and denying her motion.
Two days before Preston was charged with Glover’s murder, his charge in a separate murder case was dropped.
He was accused of participating in the killing of Robert and Chaz Blanding, an uncle and nephew who were found dead in November 2017.
That case also began as a robbery, according to prosecutors.
