Fifth suspect charged in murder of 17-year-old girl in Beaufort County
Police have charged a fifth suspect in the 2024 shooting death of a teenage girl outside a Beaufort County apartment complex.
Jayvon Andre Garrett, 21, of Beaufort, was charged Friday morning with murder, aggravated breach of peace and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.
He is one of five adult defendants facing the same set of charges for the Sept. 15, 2024, shooting that killed 17-year-old Ari’Anna Mulligan outside the Magnolia Park Apartments in Burton. Two other juveniles were nonfatally shot, one of whom was Mulligan’s brother.
Two juveniles were also charged in connection with the shooting, according to police. Their names and criminal charges were not released to the public.
Garrett was transferred to the Beaufort County jail Friday morning after nearly a year in custody at the Charleston County Detention Center. He was arrested in Charleston County for alleged armed robbery the day after the Burton shooting, court records show.
Police believe multiple shooters were involved in what appeared to be an altercation between two groups in the apartments’ parking lot.
After the shooting around 10 p.m. that night, Mulligan was airlifted to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston. She died of her injuries just after midnight.
Mulligan, a resident of Beaufort, had previously attended Whale Branch College Early High School but transferred to Bridges Preparatory School in 2024. She had just begun her senior year at the time of her death.
As of Monday, Garrett and the other four suspects remained in custody at the Beaufort County Detention Center:
- Storm Lemont Zop Polite, 24, of Dale
- Jeremiah Kieyonte Warren, 19, of St. Helena Island
- Rashod Lorenzo Williams, 19, of Grays Hill
- Derrick Jerrod McKee, 18, of Beaufort
Anyone with information about the active case is encouraged to call Master Sgt. Duncan at 843-255-3418. Anonymous tips can be submitted via the Crime Stoppers of Beaufort County website, via the P3 Tips app or by calling 844-847-7238 (844-TIPS-BFT).
