The Eutawville man who testified against his co-defendants in a quadruple murder has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Derrick Warren Coleman, 32, was sentenced after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.
Circuit Judge Ed Dickson sentenced Coleman during a recent term of court at the Orangeburg County courthouse.
At the discretion of prosecutors, the following charges against Coleman were dismissed: four counts of murder and one count each of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, first-degree burglary and attempted murder.
Coleman testified in the trial of his three co-defendants: Robert “Pockets” Bailey, 42; Antly Jermaine “Jackie Man” Scott, 40 and Luther Joseph Smith, 41.
On Feb. 23, an Orangeburg County jury convicted Bailey, Scott and Smith each on four counts of murder and one count each of first-degree burglary and attempted murder.
Dickson sentenced each of the three men to five terms of life in prison on the murder and burglary counts, plus 30 years for the attempted murder count.
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The three men were found guilty in the July 15, 2015 murders of Tamara Alexia Perry, 14; Shamekia Tyjuana Sanders, 17; Krystal Hutto, 28; and Jerome Butler, 50, at Hutto’s Eutawville home.
They were also found guilty in the shooting of Dreamzz Nelson, who was 8 years old when he survived the attack.
After the murders, investigators spoke with Coleman about a motorcycle transaction that took place at Bailey’s house the day before.
Coleman told investigators the truth about motorcycle swap, but didn’t volunteer information about the murders.
He didn’t hear from investigators again until July 19, 2016.
By that point, Scott had moved in with Coleman on St. Julien Drive on Lake Marion in Eutawville.
Coleman said investigators asked him questions about what happened on the early morning hours of July 15, 2015. Coleman testified he lied to law enforcement at that time.
Investigators ended up arresting Coleman and Scott on drug charges after discovering marijuana.
Coleman said once he bonded out, he helped a friend and his family move from North Carolina to Alabama.
Coleman returned to check on things at his Eutawville home, then decided to return to Alabama – taking Scott with him.
By Sept. 26, 2016, the law caught up with him and Scott.
Coleman was at friend’s house when the friend’s sister asked him to go outside.
The front of his friend’s yard was surrounded by officers with their guns drawn.
Coleman later agreed to testify against his co-defendants.
He testified he drove Scott and Smith to Bailey’s home to buy drugs late on July 14, 2015.
After they weren’t able to get drugs at Bailey’s house, Scott allegedly told Coleman he knew they could get drugs at Hutto’s home.
Hutto was a fiancée of Christopher Dean Wright, who was away that evening. Wright is the father of the children who were shot.
Coleman testified that he never went inside the house after he drove Scott and Smith there. He claimed that he was sitting in his truck listening to music on the stereo and playing games on his phone while he waited instead.
Nelson, however, testified that he saw the “burned up guy” in the house before Bailey shot him and everything went black.
Coleman testified that Scott and Smith ran back from the home to the truck.
Scott yelled, “Go! Go! Go!”
“I was freaking out and panicking,” Coleman said.
Coleman drove the men west on Old State Road, toward Wells Crossroads, just a few miles from Hutto’s residence.
The men switched seats. Coleman said Smith drove them to Indian Bluff Landing.
When they got there, Smith allegedly got out of the truck and went to a wooded area.
“I saw like a flame, a flicker of light, like he was burning something,” Coleman said.
Coleman testified that Scott went by the water.
“It looked like he threw two objects into the water,” Coleman said. He couldn’t tell what they were. He heard “splash,” he said.
Scott returned to the truck.
“What the hell is going on!” Coleman said.
“I just killed five f – – – – – – people! Quit giving me s – – -!” Scott said, according to Coleman.
Smith drove them to a little cul-de-sac area near the entrance to the landing, Coleman said.
Coleman and Scott smoked some marijuana to relax their nerves.
Smith allegedly drove them to his half-brother’s trailer on Gaillard Street in Eutawville.
Once they got there, Scott “pulled drugs out of his pocket,” Coleman said. It was crystal methamphetamine and cocaine.
According to the online S.C. Appellate Management System, Bailey and Scott have filed appeals, but Smith did not.
Contact the writer: mbrown@timesanddemocrat.com or 803-533-5545. Follow on Twitter: @MRBrownTandD
