‘Bullet after bullet’: Trial begins in Lady’s Island gas station shootout that killed 1
A Beaufort County prosecutor painted a chaotic scene when dozens of shots were fired and one man was killed in a Lady’s Island gas station shootout in June 2019, according to court testimony Monday.
The 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office began its opening arguments in the trial of 27-year-old Jeffrey Daquann Redd of St. Helena Island, who is accused of one count of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and one count of possession of a weapon in commission of a violent crime.
“When Jeffrey Redd sees a car full of people he doesn’t like, he sprays bullet after bullet after bullet into a packed gas station parking lot,” Assistant Solicitor Mary Jones said, speaking directly to the assembled jurors.
She said Redd had an assault rifle and fired dozens of shots into cars, gas pumps, buildings and was specifically aiming at a black Camry. Clarence “C.J.” Mitchell III, 20, of St. Helena was in the driver’s seat of the Camry and was shot five times and killed, she said.
Redd, in a cream colored dress shirt and dark pants, looked solemn as he listened to the prosecution. Mitchell’s family members sat in the courtroom behind prosecutors, watching the arguments.
Redd’s lawyer, Ashley Cornwell of the Cornwell Law Firm, in Mount Pleasant, said they’re not denying a shooting occurred. Cornwell said the Solicitor’s Office won’t be able to prove with evidence that Redd was even at the scene of the shooting, much less the one who fired into the crowded gas station.
“You’re not going to see my client on any surveillance video,” Cornwell said to the jury. “You’re not going to see my client’s DNA anywhere at the Circle K.”
‘Call 911 somebody’
The night of June 3, 2019, was supposed to be a joyful night, Jones said. She pointed out how around the corner from the Circle K gas station on Sea Island Parkway was Beaufort High School, which had finished a graduation ceremony that night.
She said the gas station was full of families and recent graduates leaving the area when the shootout began.
According to Clarence Mitchell’s sister, Nicole, who testified, Mitchell’s family members were at Beaufort High to watch their cousin graduate. They were at the Circle K afterward and inside the store, while her brother C.J. sat in the Camry.
“Call 911 somebody,” Mitchell’s sister can be heard exclaiming from Circle K when the shooting started, according to the surveillance footage.
The gas station clerk had to lock the door, and Nicole Mitchell hid in the store’s backroom with others, she said.
After police arrived, she learned her brother was killed.
On late Monday afternoon, jurors heard arguments from both sides’ lawyers and witnesses, watched surveillance footage and listened to 911 calls.
Redd’s lawyer has not yet had a chance to call witnesses on behalf of Redd. He was charged alongside two others in the shooting, whose charges are pending.
In her opening statement, prosecutor Jones said some of the occupants of the Camry that was shot up fired back at Redd and his friends. One of those occupants is facing federal gun charges.
“They absolutely shot back. What’s important is they shot back — they didn’t start it,” Jones said.
Circuit Judge Robert Bonds of Walterboro is proceeding over the trial.
This story was originally published February 14, 2022 at 5:22 PM.
