Columbia Man Guilty of Murder After Shooting Victim in the Neck While Driving
June 14, 2021
On Friday, June 11, 2021, a Richland County jury found Correy Tremayne Brown, of Columbia, guilty of murder after a week-long trial.
The trial began with jury selection on Monday, June 7th and concluded on Friday, June 11th. Jurors heard testimony that during the early morning hours of December 29, 2018, Brown, age 43, shot the victim, Donald Young, age 37, in the neck while he was driving his car. The gunshot immediately severed the victim’s spinal cord which led to the car crashing. Originally this was believed to be a singular motor vehicle fatality, however during the autopsy, the pathologist discovered the gunshot wound and notified law enforcement.
Brown and Young had been together throughout the night at Tony’s Lounge and then the home of another witness. They went to the Shell Gas Station and then picked up a friend they had been with earlier in the night. There was also an eye witness to the shooting who provided information about the shooting to law enforcement. Video surveillance of the car seen shortly before the incident, the defendant’s phone records, and other evidence obtained during the investigation both corroborated the eye witness’s account and were inconsistent with Brown’s account to law enforcement. The fugitive task force arrested Brown on December 31, 2018 without incident.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitors Kathryn Cavanaugh and Sam McGlothin. Sergeant Michael Laurita of the Richland County Sheriff’s Department led the investigation.
The Honorable DeAndrea Benjamin presided and sentenced Brown to 42 years in prison.