Port Royal man pleads guilty Monday in 2018 shooting that injured a Burton man, officials say
A Port Royal man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison Monday for a February 2018 shooting that injured a man, according to a 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office press release.
Michael Shane Kearney, 37, was charged with attempted murder and possession of a weapon in the commission of a violent crime in February 2018.
At around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 27, 2018, police were called out to Milledge Village Road and Lexxus Lane in Burton for a shots fired call. When police got there, they found a man, identified as Torian Singleton, lying on the ground. A witness told police he heard the gun go off before seeing a woman back her car up into a tree and leave the area, according to previous reporting from the Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. The man ran toward Singleton who had been standing 30 feet from the front door of a home in the neighborhood. Neighbors reported hearing only one shot go off.
Security cameras from neighbors recorded a man, identified as Kearney, walk up to Singleton and shoot him in the face, officials said in the press release.
Kearney was arrested on March 5, 2018.
Kearney’s defense attorney, Freddy Woods, a senior partner at The Woods Law Firm, said in a written statement that his client “took accountability for his actions and accepted responsibility.”
“The assistant solicitor and I worked diligently for 4 years to resolve this case by a negotiated plea while considering mitigating factors,” Woods said. “The court accepted the plea and delivered what we believe to be a fair and equitable representation of justice for all parties involved in this case.”
The 15-year prison sentence was handed down by Judge Bentley Price.
As of Wednesday, Kearney was in custody at the detention center in Beaufort.
This story was originally published October 12, 2022 at 5:14 PM.
