Hispanic man dies in failed robbery

Suspect sought; police think robbers targeting Latinos

A 24-year-old Hispanic man shot in Johnson Cemetery on Stall Road walked to the street, where he collapsed and died early Friday, authorities said.

The Charleston County Sheriff's Office described the shooting as a botched robbery, and identified a suspect that afternoon. Michael Terrell Williams, 21, was being sought on a murder charge.

"Right now, he's the only suspect," said Maj. John Clark, a sheriff's spokesman.

Roni Perez-Ricardez was originally from Mexico and lived in the Stall Road area, Coroner Rae Wooten said. He died at the scene at 2:20 a.m. An autopsy confirmed that gunshot wounds caused his death, she said.

Perez-Ricardez was found near a pillar at the cemetery's entrance, Clark said.

North Charleston police handled the initial crime scene because the spot where he collapsed — about midway between Ashley Phosphate and Midland Park roads — is in North Charleston, police spokesman Spencer Pryor said. Police processed the crime scene but handed the case over to the sheriff's deputies after determining the actual shooting probably happened in an unincorporated part of the county.

Detectives did not know what the slain man had been doing in the cemetery, Clark said.

The number of Hispanic homicide victims this year has been disproportionate to their share of the overall population. Two of the six homicide victims in Charleston County were Hispanic. Latinos also have been specifically targeted in crimes such as robberies, police said.

Felix Juarez, a 44-year-old landscaper from Mexico, was shot dead March 16 on Tedder Street, just on the other side of Ashley Phosphate Road from Stall Road. Juarez's killing, which authorities also described as a robbery attempt, remains unsolved as well.

Anyone with information about where to find Williams, the suspect in Friday's shooting, or anyone who wishes to identify a suspect in the March shooting, can call the Sheriff's Office at 202-1700.