Burton shooting suspect arrested + Hilton Head shooting update

Deputies were investigating the county's third fatal shooting in less than three weeks Thursday after a domestic dispute in Burton left one man dead and a second wounded.

The death of 23-year-old Jovan Donaldson late Wednesday night brings to 10 the number of homicides in the county so far in 2015. That puts the county on pace to have its deadliest year in at least the past 20 based on the most recent time period analyzed by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. Only twice over that period of time has the county seen more homicides -- 11 in 2002 and 12 in 2012.

Donaldson was pronounced dead around 10 p.m. at the Burton Fire Department, where he was brought after the shooting on Polite Drive. Deputies later arrested 22-year-old Devandre James in connection with Donaldson's death.

Donaldson's death comes one day after 21-year-old Rhashard Spikes was shot to death near the Oaks Apartments on Hilton Head Island following what police described as a road-rage incident on U.S. 278 and only a few weeks after a deadly shooting in the Coligny Beach Park area.

THE BURTON SHOOTING

Donaldson died after a woman got into an argument with a man she lived with at the Polite Drive address.

When the woman telephoned family members, three men -- one of them Donaldson -- and a woman drove to the scene.

The group then argued with the man who lived in the house.

During that confrontation, one of the three males fired a handgun at least once, a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office news release said. A bullet struck both Donaldson and the male resident.

Members of the group sped away and drove Donaldson to the fire station on Burton Hill Road. He was pronounced dead there.

James turned himself in Thursday afternoon to the Sheriff's Office after investigators issued warrants charging him with murder, attempted murder, and two counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime. He is being held in the Beaufort County Detention Center pending a bond hearing.

Donald Peters, a resident of the area where the shooting took place, said he was scared for his life after learning of the shooting.

"I saw the crime scene unit out and a body laying on the ground," Peters said Thursday. "I didn't know if the person was dead, but he was crouched down like he was in severe pain. ... I was really frightened because I didn't know if the person that did it was still in the area."

The wounded man, whom the Sheriff's Office declined to identify, was taken to the hospital for treatment and is still there, Sheriff's Office Capt. Bob Bromage said Thursday. The man's condition wasn't available.

Bromage said charges are possible for the others involved in the incident.

THE HILTON HEAD SHOOTING

As funeral services were set Thursday for Spikes, the Sheriff's Office investigation into his death continued. No suspects have been identified, Bromage said.

According to the sheriff's office, Spikes told investigators before his death he was shot by someone in a small silver-colored vehicle who caught up to him after their cars nearly collided moments earlier on U.S. 278 near Southwood Park Drive. Two passengers, so far unidentified, were in the car with Spikes at the time, police said.

On Thursday, Spikes' friend Mark Dorsey Jr. said he last spoke to him two weeks ago.

"He was a great person," Dorsey said. "We always made each other laugh, and we always understood each other."

Dorsey said he met Spikes during their freshman year at Whale Branch Early College High School and looked out for each other. At the time, Spikes was interested in joining the U.S. Army, and joined the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps, Dorsey said.

"He was very motivated and goal driven," Dorsey said. "He wanted to work for what he got and was not spoon fed."

Geri Henderson, lead counsel for for the Beaufort County School District, knew Spikes as a student during his time at Whale Branch. Spikes was a graduate of the Class of 2012.

"Rhashard was a very quiet student and very disciplined," Henderson said. "He was truly a good kid and student."

Henderson said Spikes enjoyed serving his community during his time in high school. His mother, a teacher for another district, and father have received numerous phone calls from the community about their son since his death, Henderson said.

"They (Spikes' parents) are devastated," Henderson said. "They are hurting right now. ... He was that kid who just knew everybody."

Funeral services are scheduled for 11 a.m.Tuesday at Harvest Time Church in Savannah. Bynes-Royall Funeral Home of Savannah is handling the arrangements.

Spikes' death comes two weeks after 17-year-old Dominique Williams was killed near the Coligny Beach Park water fountain July 19. A 15-year-old has been arrested in that shooting.

Follow Caitlin Turner on Twitter at twitter.com/Cait_E_Turner.

This story was originally published August 6, 2015 at 8:42 AM with the headline "Burton shooting suspect arrested + Hilton Head shooting update."