A planned robbery ended in gunfire in Columbia’s Ecker’s Hollow on the evening of January 14. Seventeen-year-old Lance Carrington was found dead in the driver’s seat of his parked car on Helen Dorsey Way after Howard County police responded to a welfare check around 8:30 p.m. The vehicle’s brake lights were on and music was playing; the driver’s side window showed a bullet hole. Carrington had been shot at least once and a loaded handgun was recovered on his person.

Investigators say the killing grew out of a plot to steal Carrington’s handgun. A meeting was arranged through Instagram; 19-year-old Janae Baker entered the car with Carrington while accomplices moved in. Police allege that when Charles Epperson Jr., then 19, opened the passenger door for Baker to exit, 17-year-old Jemik Parker approached the driver’s side and fired the fatal shot. Two others, 18-year-old Kendall Stagg and 20-year-old Jeremiah Robinson, were reportedly near the rear of the vehicle. All five fled the scene and were later arrested and charged with murder. One defendant has pleaded guilty and been sentenced as part of a deal that includes his testimony against the others.

If anyone witnessed activity on Helen Dorsey Way that evening or had contact with Lance beforehand, please share information with investigators.