Ridgeland man dead, gunman at large after Sunday shooting inside Jasper County nightclub
29-year-old Ridgeland man Albert Heyward was killed in a shooting at a popular Jasper County nightclub early Sunday morning, according to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office. Two suspected accomplices were arrested while the shooter remains at large.
Police say one person fired over a dozen shots inside Tap Ultra Lounge, located along S. Jacob Smart Blvd in Ridgeland, just after 1:30 a.m. Sunday. Heyward was shot multiple times and died later that morning at Coastal Carolina Hospital, according to the Jasper County Coroner’s Office.
Jasper County deputies arrested 22-year-old Yemassee man Herbert Dashawn Ford later Sunday morning, charging him as an accessory to the murder. The man was identified in connection with the shooting because he and Heyward were in a fistfight inside Tap Ultra Lounge just before the shooting took place, Crosby said. He was released Sunday from the Jasper County Detention Center on a $30,000 cash bond, judicial records show.
Another 22-year-old Yemassee man, Kevin Jamol Young, was also charged as an accessory, the Sheriff’s Office announced Monday afternoon. His bond hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Investigators have identified the shooter and obtained an arrest warrant for murder but cannot release a name, Crosby said. Police believe the incident stems from a years-old dispute between the shooter and Heyward, dating back to high school.
Police do not know whether the Tap Ultra Lounge building was significantly damaged.
Sunday’s murder comes a few months after a grisly dispute in a Hardeeville parking lot, which investigators said stemmed from a dispute at the Ridgeland nightclub.
The SC Law Enforcement Divison helped process the scene Sunday morning. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available. Anyone with information regarding Sunday night’s shooting can call the Jasper County Detective’s Office at 843-726-7779 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry tip line at 843-554-1111, referencing case number 23S19301.
This story was originally published July 24, 2023 at 9:52 AM.
