Two charged in mall shooting; federal agent did not fire fatal shots

Police have arrested two men in Wednesday's fatal Citadel Mall parking lot shooting, which investigators say started as an attempted armed robbery inside a car.

Begondae Moore, 27, died from multiple gunshot wounds shortly after the 1:30 p.m. incident outside J.C. Penney.

Two men appeared in Charleston County bond court today on charges of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.

Daniel Williams, 21, and Rodney Palmer, 19, both of North Charleston, stood quietly during the hearing. Magistrate Patricia Henley denied bail on the weapons charges and explained that a circuit judge must set bail on the murder charges.

Both suspects' mothers attended the short hearing, as did a woman the judge referred to as Moore's wife. Though events unfolded without drama inside the courtroom, some men directed angry words at the suspects' parents afterwards.

Donna Williams, Daniel Williams' mother, walked over to them, obviously emotional, trying to calm them.

"I feel for y'all," she said.

"It don't matter because my homeboy ain't coming back," one man replied.

After the exchange, Williams said Palmer's mother, Karen Simmons, said the men were step-brothers and had never been in serious trouble. They had learned of the arrests that morning and were shocked.

"We're working, we're both trying to be good citizens," Williams said.

Simmons said the bullet that hit her son's leg passed straight through.

Investigators' affidavits give this account of the shooting, which allegedly involved a fourth man, Edwin Yeadon, who has not been charged:

Moore was in the driver's seat of a 2006 Acura, with Williams behind him and Palmer in the front passenger seat. Yeadon, who was in the rear seat behind Palmer, pulled out a handgun and tried to rob Moore.

A struggle followed, and Yeadon ran out of the vehicle. The struggled continued outside the car, involving Moore, Williams and Palmer. At some point, a gun was fired and Moore was hit several times.

Police arrested Williams and Palmer near the mall. Williams had Moore's cell phone, the affidavits say. The documents make no mention of the group going inside the mall, as police initially reported.

The State Law Enforcement Division confirmed that a special agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement fired a gun during the incident, though it was unclear how many times, or who, if anyone, was hit.

Federal authorities said that agents happened to be in the area, but declined to say why.

"Yesterday, ICE officers working near the Citadel Mall, witnessed an altercation between various individuals," according to a statement from ICE. "One of the individuals involved in the altercation allegedly pulled a gun. ICE officers immediately responded to the scene. No further details are available at this time as the matter is currently being investigated by ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General."

SLED today was still probing the exact circumstances of the part of the shooting that involved the federal agent, said Jennifer Timmons, a SLED public information officer. SLED typically investigates all officer-involved shootings in the state.

Leigh Burnett, marketing director for Citadel and Northwoods malls, said surveillance cameras captured the whole incident on tape. Burnett said the men appeared to be patrons at the mall and that none of them worked there.

"I still don't know exactly what went down," Burnett said. "Obviously, it's a very unfortunate incident. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the victim and the injured."

She said the mall would have extra security on hand for the upcoming holiday shopping season. She said the incident was the only major security problem at the mall since a man was shot dead in the parking lot during a police undercover operation in September 2007. In late 2006, a man was shot in the leg in a bathroom near the mall's food court.

Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postandcourier.com