Three of the four Chester residents charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting at a man at a local nightclub and as he pursued them when they fled the scene will remain in jail as they await trial while the fourth is out on bond but forbidden to return to Union County except to go to work and to go to court.
Tevin Deonta Fair, 19, 737 Meadowbrook Road, Chester; Kiama Hason Sanders, 19, 789 Charitty Road, Chester; Cedric Jamaris Brown, 22, 5681 Woodsferry Road, Chester; and Najahwan Abdul Woodard, 18, 573 E. 2nd St., Chester, are each charged by the Union County Sheriff’s Office with attempted murder, discharging a firearm at a vehicle, unlawful carrying of a handgun, simple possession of marijuana, and open container. Fair, Sanders, and Woodard are also charged with minor in possession of beer.
Fair, Sanders, Brown, and Woodard are accused of opening fire on a Union man in the parking lot of a Union nightclub on the morning of Aug. 4 and then firing on him again as he followed them on the Jonesville-Lockhart Highway.
The four went before Judge Michael Nettles of Florence in General Sessions Court Thursday afternoon in two separate bond hearings. First up was Brown whose bond was set by Nettles at $30,000 for the attempted murder charge, $10,000 for the discharging a firearm at a vehicle charge, $8,000 for the unlawful carrying of a handgun charge, $1,000 for the simple possession of marijuana charge, and $1,000 for the open container charge. The bonds for the attempted murder, discharging a firearm at a vehicle, and unlawful carrying of a handgun charges are surety bonds that Nettles said would require a professional bail bondsman to sign off on. The bonds for the simple possession of marijuana and open container charges are personal recognizance bonds.
In setting bond for Brown, Nettles imposed a 6 p.m. curfew, stating that he had to be in his home in Chester by that time every day unless he was at work. Nettles also ordered that Brown not return to Union County except for court. When told that Brown works in Union County, Nettles amended his order to allow Brown to return to the county to work as well as attend court. He also ordered that Brown have no contact whatsoever with the victim.
A joint bond hearing was then held for Fair, Sanders and Woodard who, unlike Brown, would be denied bond.
During the hearing for the three, Sixteenth Circuit Deputy Solicitor John Anthony told the court that in the incident for which the four are being charged, Sanders was the driver of the vehicle from which the shots were fired and that the majority of the shots fired came from the back of the vehicle where Fair and Woodard were sitting.
In denying bond for Fair, Sanders and Woodard, Nettles pointed to what he described as tension between a group of young men in Union and groups in Carlisle and Chester. Nettles said that for the safety of the community and the safety of Fair, Sanders and Woodard he was denying them bond. He did, however, state that if the case was not resolved by June 1, 2013, Fair, Sanders and Woodard could again request that bond be set.
The incident in which Fair, Sanders, Brown and Woodard are charged occurred shortly after 2 a.m. at a nightclub located 1104 Jonesville-Lockhart Highway, Union. Witnesses told deputies dispatched to the scene that shots had been fired from a black SUV occupied by four African-American males later identified as Fair, Sanders, Brown, and Woodard. They said that after the shooting the four had fled the scene heading towards Lockhart on the Jonesville-Lockhart Highway.
While on the scene, deputies were informed by dispatch that they had the victim on the line and he was telling them he was following the SUV and that those inside had opened fire on him again in the area of the 3000 block of the Jonesville-Lockhart Highway. The victim met with deputies at a convenience store on the highway and told them he’d been parked in front of the nightclub when he noticed the men in the SUV were firing at his car. He said his car had been hit and the incident report states deputies observed damage to the vehicle which appeared to be the result of being hit by bullets.
The SUV was finally stopped inside Chester County by sheriff’s deputies with the assistance of deputies of the Chester County Sheriff’s Office. The incident report states deputies noticed that the vehicle’s back window was missing and appeared to have either been broken or shot out. Deputies also noticed the strong odor of alcohol coming from Fair, Sanders, Brown, and Woodard.
In searching the SUV, deputies found three weapons including a 9mm handgun, a .380 caliber handgun, and a .40 caliber handgun; two spent .380 caliber shell casings and a bullet fragment; a clear plastic baggy containing a plant-like material believed to be marijuana; and an open can of beer. Deputies also noticed what appeared to be bullet damage to the rear driver’s headrest, to the front driver’s side headrest, and a hole in the front windshield.
Prior to their vehicle being searched, the incident report states Fair, Sanders, Brown, and Woodard told deputies that they’d been the ones fired on at the club and were trying to get away. They said they didn’t have any guns in their vehicle and that the victim had fired on them. The incident report, however, states that when he met with deputies, the victim gave them permission to search his car and that the ensuring search had turned up no weapons or any sign that shots had been fired from the vehicle.
When told what deputies had found in their SUV, the incident report states Fair, Sanders, Brown, and Woodard became uncooperative, with none of them claiming ownership for the items turned up by the search. They were then placed under arrest and transported to jail..
Deputies then returned to the nightclub and found three 9mm shell casings in the area where the witnesses and the victim said the initial shooting had taken place.
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