Suspect in fatal shooting at Beaufort apartments surrenders to police in Columbia
A 23-year-old Beaufort resident wanted for a deadly shooting at a local apartment complex has turned himself in to police in Columbia.
Derrick Lamonte Singleton Jr., who surrendered to the Columbia Police Department on Friday, faces charges of murder, criminal conspiracy, discharging a firearm into a vehicle and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to Beaufort police.
Under South Carolina law, a conspiracy charge involves “two or more persons” working together to commit an alleged crime. As of Monday, it was unclear if additional suspects were believed to be involved and if any arrests had taken place.
Singleton is accused in the murder of 26-year-old Tahir A. Bailey, of Beaufort, who was found dead after a Feb. 11 shooting at the Garden Oaks Apartments, located south of the Regions Bank on Robert Smalls Parkway. Officers at the time said he “appeared to have suffered from a gunshot wound.”
Lt. Lori Evans, a spokesperson for the Beaufort Police Department, said on Monday that officials were in the process of transferring Singleton from Richland County to Beaufort County.
The incident marked the third time in recent months the newly opened apartments were the site of a major police investigation, following the murder of a 62-year-old man in late December and a shooting that injured one person in October.
The investigation into the Feb. 11 murder was ongoing, according to the Beaufort Police Department.
Anyone with information on the case is encouraged to contact Beaufort County’s non-emergency dispatch line at 843-524-2777 or Investigator Lynch of the Beaufort Police Department at 843-524-2777.
Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County at 1-844-TIPSBFT (1-844-847-7238), visiting their website or using the P3 Tips App.
