Garrick Kelly

Garrick Kelly was remembered by his loved ones as a loving person with a genuine heart who always had a joke to tell and a smile that was worth a million words. The 28-year-old Black man, born November 2, 1991, to Garrick Kelly and Lisa Jackson, cherished his family and his two children, Jayceon Summers and Garrick Kelly III. A graduate of Wagener High School, he continued his education at Denmark Technical College, where he earned a certificate in welding. He loved the game of basketball and had a passion for dogs. His life was a source of joy for his parents, children, many siblings, and a wide circle of relatives and friends who loved him dearly.

That life was violently ended on the afternoon of August 13, 2020, in Salley, South Carolina. Around 4:30 p.m., the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call reporting a shooting in the 200 block of Roberts Street East. When deputies arrived, they discovered Garrick unresponsive, slouched over in the back of a Honda. He had sustained apparent gunshot wounds to his upper body and was pronounced deceased at the scene by the Aiken County Coroner. An autopsy was scheduled to be performed the following day in Newberry.

Witnesses at the scene provided investigators with a description of the man they saw open fire. They said the shooter, who was wearing red pants and a gray shirt, jumped into a black sedan and sped away from the area. Deputies with the Aiken County Sheriff's Office saturated the area and soon located the suspected getaway vehicle at a residence on Conestoga Way, but the suspect was not there. The investigation quickly focused on a person of interest.

The day after the fatal shooting, the sheriff's office publicly identified 28-year-old Dameun Jeff Sanders of Windsor, South Carolina, as the suspect. Warrants were issued for his arrest on charges of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Authorities cautioned the public that Sanders should be considered armed and dangerous and asked for any information regarding his whereabouts. The search did not last long; on August 14, Sanders was located and taken into custody without incident by the West Columbia Police Department.

Sanders was booked into the Aiken County detention center and formally charged with the murder of Garrick Kelly and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. He remained in custody awaiting trial for more than two years.

In November 2022, the trial for Dameun Jeff Sanders began at the Aiken County courthouse. After a week of proceedings, a jury found him guilty of murdering Garrick Kelly. Following the verdict, a judge sentenced Sanders, then 30, to serve 45 years in a state prison. He was transferred to the custody of the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin his sentence. As of November 2022, the criminal case into the death of Garrick Kelly is closed.