Hampton Co. man gets 12-year sentence after pleading guilty in 2020 fatal shooting
An Varnville man was sentenced to 12 years in prison after he pleaded guilty Monday to shooting another man during an argument almost two years ago, according to a 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office news release.
Faizon Syheen Speed, now 19, was charged with voluntary manslaughter and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime after 37-year-old Robert Lee Haynes Jr was shot to death on May 3, 2020.
Speed was given a 12 year sentence for the first charge and five years for the latter charge in the Hampton County General Sessions Court. The terms will be served concurrently.
Haynes arrived at his girlfriend’s house on Curly Road in Varnville on the day of the shooting to find Speed arguing with his girlfriend’s son in the front yard, the release said. Speed and Haynes began arguing before Speed fired multiple shots, police said.
Haynes was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital but later died.
“Mr. Speed was armed and was looking for a confrontation,” 14th Circuit Deputy Solicitor Sean Thornton, who prosecuted the case, said. “He settled a score by repeatedly firing his gun and striking the victim.”
