Seabrook man sentenced 34 years for shooting death at Hardeeville apartments
A Seabrook man was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 34 years in prison for the 2020 killing of a Ridgeland resident.
Jharaun Montyce Washington, 25, was convicted Thursday afternoon of murder and the possession of a weapon during commission of a violent crime. Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds handed down the sentence.
Washington was charged with murder in August 2020, four months after the shooting in Hardeeville that killed Donovan Hay, a 28-year-old Ridgeland man.
The April 22, 2020, shooting was captured by surveillance cameras at Ridgeland’s Walsh Drive Apartments. Hay and three passengers were driving past the home of Washington’s mother, where Washington and four other men were on the front porch.
The two groups had a history of violent disputes, said assistant solicitor Trasi Campbell, who prosecuted the case.
After a passenger got out of the vehicle and grabbed a gun from the trunk, Washington retrieved his own handgun and fired at the car, Campbell said. One bullet struck Hay in the head and killed him.
“Mr. Washington fired nearly two dozen shots, not only killing Donovan Hay but endangering many innocent bystanders with his attack in the middle of the day,” Campbell said.
