Gang members tied to shootings
But sheriff says violence likely not gang-related
By Andy Paras
WALTERBORO — Gang members are responsible for the last two Colleton County shootings, Sheriff George Malone said Monday.
Malone said some of the suspects in a fatal shooting outside a Jefferies Highway nightclub on April 10 and a second shooting on Cane Branch Highway three days later have been linked to gang activity, though the shootings themselves probably were not gang-related.
Derrick Phillip Leonard Fishburne (left) is charged in an April 10 killing. Trevor Courtney Fishburne (right) is a suspect in an April 13 non-fatal shooting.
"We are finding out as time goes by that they've been involved in gang activity or are involved in gang activity," Malone said.
Gangs are nothing new to this rural county of 38,000 people. Sheriff's investigators have identified some 20 gangs, each with about 20 members, many of whom are in their teens or even living with their parents. They say it's just a way for many of the kids to belong to something in rural and impoverished areas.
Most of the gang-related shootings, though brazen in nature, rarely resulted in serious injuries until Deputy Dennis Compton was shot to death in August while responding to a burglary alarm.
Investigators believe at least one of the two suspects in Compton's death was affiliated with a local gang. Both men are accused of breaking into a Sheriff's Office substation and stealing investigators' researchand stealing investigators' research into who may belong to gangs. Authorities have said they recovered most of the stolen files and don't believe the theft of the information would impede cases or lead to acts of retaliation.
Investigators have identified three suspects in their last two shootings.
Derrick Phillip Leonard Fishburne, 24, is charged with murder in the April 10 death of 27-year-old Donald Green outside the Spirits Lounge on Jefferies Highway.
Derrick Fishburne is the uncle of 20-year-old Trevor Courtney Fishburne, who is one of two suspects in the non-fatal shooting of Kelvin F. Mitchell on April 13. Mitchell was found on Cane Branch Road, shot in the throat and shoulder.
Trevor Fishburne and Elijah Charles Brown, 19, of Glover Street are both wanted on charges of assault and battery with intent to kill and armed robbery in connection with that shooting.
Brown has no known involvement in gangs, investigators said.
Even though the other two suspects are related, investigators said they don't believe the shootings are connected.
The common denominator, they say, is a gang-member mentality.
Reach Andy Paras at 937-5589 or aparas@postandcourier.com.
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Comments
pirate42 (anonymous) says...
hang them no trial just do it got to stop theses B_ tards some how PUBLIC HANGING...
April 21, 2009 at 5 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sig (anonymous) says...
Agree with pirate42: Do not waste taxpayers money to keep them alive. Once convicted - death as soon as possible. Tired of paying for welfare scumbags!
April 21, 2009 at 5:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
You know how you deal with pirates, terroist, and gang memebers? You kill al the pirates, terroist and gang members. With one failed swoop the LEO's of this state could go in and handle this. This has got to be a plaque to our society. You can't let this get as big as gangs of LA. How about a war on gangs?!
April 21, 2009 at 6:21 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mb300sl (anonymous) says...
Gang-member mentality...great...try them and execute them publicly as deterrent to "gang-member mentality"...GEEZZ!
April 21, 2009 at 6:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AMAZING (anonymous) says...
Sheriff's investigators have identified some 20 gangs, each with about 20 members, uh...
2 down...398 to go.
April 21, 2009 at 8:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
What strikes me so lately is how the public statements of the various law enforcement departments have so gradually morphed into an admission that, yes, there are gangs around here. I've beleived and heard others say for the last ten to fifteen years that gangs are here, and the law enforcement agencies in the area have consistently denied that up until the last year or two. Now, there's 400? Virtually overnight? Well, it's about time. You will not fix a problem that you do not acknowledge exists.
April 21, 2009 at 9:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
AMAZING (anonymous) says...
What Illegal Aliens Have Done To Saluda SC
http://www.americanshavehadenough.org...
April 21, 2009 at 9:35 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Haywood_Utalktome (anonymous) says...
Let them kill each other, then clean up the mess after wards,at least it put somebody to work.
April 21, 2009 at 9:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SomeTruthPlease (anonymous) says...
These two seem to be doing an ideal job of cleaning up Colleton County..why be so hard on them????
April 21, 2009 at 10:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
TLG87 (anonymous) says...
Just fry 'em both and get it over with.
April 21, 2009 at 11:42 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Charles_Town (anonymous) says...
Why not publish a list of the known gangs, their suspected members, and ways to identify them?
April 21, 2009 at 12:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
UrGatorbait (anonymous) says...
I think this state wants to be known for something else bad. Advertise we have gangs and validate their existence.
The usual bigoted kill 'em all yeehaws are out in force. Bravo.
April 21, 2009 at 12:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
My first reaction too is to "kill 'em all'. It feels good but is no realistic solution. The bottom line answer is to get to their hearts and minds, but that is difficult if not impossible too. We forbid the teaching of any moral authority other than "what's good for me without hurting someone else". Now, what kind of standard is that. Bottom line, I don't have a resonable, legal idea how to get rid of the gangs. As long as the law is set up to protect and free the innocent, the guilty will use that same law to stay free.
April 21, 2009 at 1:09 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
MilitaryMan (anonymous) says...
This has been a long time coming. I am from WAlterboro SC BUT no longer reside there. Even in my days of growing up nothing was severe as it is now. YOu've identified the gangs but arent doing anything about it. What's going to happen next. One of these gangs does a drive by at a football game or other sporting event because gangs are know to frequent these events. How is Walterboro supposed to be a good place to live when all of this is going on. Is it the new "norm" to be in a gang. Is that waht our young children aspiring to be, like my daddy, brother ort uncle. The revel in the fact that their younger generation is folowing in there footsteps. Has Walterboro become that type of city, where you want to be home before the sun goes down? Being in the military has taught me a lot. You make an example out of one and the rest will see. I dont look forward to coming home because of all the BS that is going on. 400 gang members? How is that possible? That means there are gangs with family members in rival gangs. Are we at war with our own. This makes no sense at all. How did Walterbor become a place where three shootings happen in a matter of 2 weeks. Something must be done in order to curtail what is going on. We must make the attempt to take back what was known as a small town but has become a place where you're not safe to walk the streets.
April 21, 2009 at 2:04 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
fyrefighter273 (anonymous) says...
We must take our streets back, problem is in times of fiscal restraint things are pushed aside. Police officers can only do so much, the courts need to step up as well, judges need to hand out stiffer sentences. Prisons need to be tougher since gangs flourish inside. Our society is too soft, we are too worried about political correctness, whose toes we step on, women having children and no father there or is in prison. Men need to step up and be a father not a drug dealer, criminal or whatever. This whole situation is not simple to resolve and it will be tough, it starts at home look at who your kids hang out with, look at what they wear, how they wear it, look their hair styles,wonder what the eyebrows having one cut in one then three in the other means. Gangs are not for black kids in the projects or hispanics in trailers. Web resources are available parents get involved, open your eyes. Parents need to gove tough love not worry about being cool.
April 21, 2009 at 6:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
SCPDBLUE (anonymous) says...
Boy Oh Boy ,I seem to see a pattern here, HHHHmmm what could it be? I guess the facts I write in my posts are correct in the fact that its the same people over and over again. So call me what you want but the Facts are just that FACTS at who is doing the most killing in our communities.And the so-called community leaders,the NAACP and the Rainbow Push Coalition are doing nothing as usual,unless involves money to be make other than that its just another young black male shooting another young black male.To the community leaders,the NAACP and the Rainbow Push Coalition SAY that to the mothers of the murdered.
April 21, 2009 at 8:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Sharpshooter308 (anonymous) says...
cant we all just get along?
April 21, 2009 at 9:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
commonsence (anonymous) says...
The gang problem will never go away until the residents step up and take responsibility for their own community. Stop protecting the thugs and start parenting your kids. The solution is not law enforcement - they can only respond after the damage has been done.
April 21, 2009 at 9:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
psalm23 (anonymous) says...
i agree with many of you, it starts @ home, the normal life to me is that parents have curfew for kids, we worked for what we want while in school, we earned our respect by doing right by others, mostly God, it just disgust me to see anybody get killed, how about hearing about students graduating, being on the deans list, helping elderly, think about others b-4 urself, God is going to let but so much happen b4 HE steps in, then its all over. Parents Be parents not Friends, be firm, if da kids don't listen send there behinds to boot camp. um um um what is really the solution, PRAY and when you leave it in GODS hand
April 21, 2009 at 10:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
psalm23 (anonymous) says...
death on death is not the answer, no one has the right to take anothers life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 21, 2009 at 10:55 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Thinkaboutit28 (anonymous) says...
Im from the rural areas in Colleton County and there are just a few bad apples not gang members surronding me. I have brothers and cousins whom live in the same area and they are not gang members just black youth whom hangs out in the neighborhood. So when they call the black youth around my neighborhood suspected gang members it really upset me and it should upset others who live in the rural areas of Colleton County because they are talking about your young black sons and family members.
April 23, 2009 at 1:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
brown_fromcolleton (anonymous) says...
First off everyone is saying hanging and death penalty...
What if this was your family?? How do you know if one of them wasn't the shooter?? You don't know...so you should keep your rude comments to yourself because as you can see Brown is not involved in any gangs and he wouldn't commit a crime like that..we grew up in the same house and he wouldn't do that. that's family right there and he's innocent. Free Elijah.
April 25, 2009 at 8:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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