Beaufort County man sent to prison for killing stepfather at dinner table
A 25-year-old from Burton was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison for an unexpected 2022 shooting that killed his stepfather at the dinner table, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Daniel Adame-Guatemala received a 20-year prison sentence after pleading guilty Wednesday to voluntary manslaughter and felony gun possession. He would receive credit for about 660 days already spent in the Beaufort County jail, bringing his prison time to just over 18 years.
Circuit Court Judge Marthan M. Rivers handed down the sentence.
Adame-Guatemala entered an “Alford plea,” which carries the same punishment as a guilty plea but allows the defendant to maintain their innocence. It is typically used in cases where the prosecution’s evidence is likely to secure a conviction.
Police initially charged Adame-Guatemala with murder following his arrest in the summer of 2023, but prosecutors agreed upon the manslaughter charge in part because the defendant’s family did not wish to testify against him in court.
“The family cooperated with investigators and supported Adame-Guatemala’s prosecution,” Deputy Solicitor Mary Jones, who prosecuted the case, wrote in a Wednesday press release. “However, they did not relish the prospect of testifying against him. Because the defendant also took responsibility for his crime by pleading to involuntary manslaughter, we agreed this was an appropriate resolution and merciful for his family.”
Defined as the unlawful killing of another person “without malice,” voluntary manslaughter is punishable by a prison term of two to 30 years under South Carolina law.
A public defender who represented Adame-Guatemala did not immediately respond to a phone call Wednesday afternoon.
Shots fired ‘without warning’
Adame-Guatemala had prior convictions in Beaufort County for a handful of misdemeanors, including two for domestic violence. After being from prison, he began living with his mother and stepfather at the Godwin Mobile Home Park off Joe Frazier Road in the Burton area, according to the solicitor’s office.
Prosecutors said Adame-Guatemala stayed at the residence for months with no apparent issues until Feb. 24, 2022. He reportedly emerged from the bathroom “without warning” and fired a pistol multiple times at his stepfather, who was eating dinner with Adame-Guatemala’s mother. The gunman continued firing around his mother as she tried to stop him, the press release said.
The man’s stepfather, 29-year-old Christian Manuel Hernandez Hernandez, died of multiple gunshot wounds inside the residence.
Taking the keys to the family’s pickup truck, Adame-Guatemala fled to Mexico, where he has several relatives, and then to South America, according to the solicitor’s office. He was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in June 2023 as he tried to cross back into the country near Hildago, Texas.
