Solicitor mulls seeking adult charges against teen suspect in Coligny shooting
No decision has been made on whether the teenager accused in a fatal shooting at Coligny Beach Park on Sunday will be charged as an adult, 14th Solicitor Duffie Stone said Thursday.
He would not release the suspect's name but said he is 15 years old.
Stone said during a news conference Thursday that he is still reviewing evidence in the death of 17-year-old Dominique Williams on Hilton Head Island. The Solicitor's Office has 30 days from the time of an arrest to ask a Family Court judge to charge a teenager as an adult, Stone said.
In South Carolina, juvenile offenders' names cannot be released to the media unless authorized by a court order or if the juvenile has been charged as an adult or found delinquent in court for certain offenses, such as violent and felony drug crimes.
The process of charging the juvenile as an adult could take months. A judge would set up a Family Court hearing to rule on the motion at his discretion, Stone said.
Williams was fatally shot at Coligny Beach Park around 8:20 p.m. Sunday, a day after he and the alleged shooter were in a fist fight at the Cordillo Courts apartment complex.
The suspect in Williams's death stood face-to-face with Williams and shot him, and Williams died at the scene of a single gunshot wound, Beaufort County Sheriff's Office spokesman Capt. Bob Bromage said Wednesday.
Sheriff's deputies patrolling Coligny Beach Circle Sunday night were flagged down by several people who had heard or witnessed the shooting. The deputies found Williams lying on his back, suffering from an apparent head injury, according to a Sheriff's Office report.
An eyewitness at the scene reported he saw Williams falling backward and another boy running toward South Forest Beach Drive after hearing a sound like a firecracker, the report said.
Authorities immediately began a search for the suspect, who was turned in by his family Tuesday afternoon and charged with murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.
Investigators are still looking into what led the two Hilton Head teens to argue on Saturday, Bromage said.
This story was originally published July 23, 2015 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Solicitor mulls seeking adult charges against teen suspect in Coligny shooting."