Man slain in Colleton County

WALTERBORO -- The rash of violence in Colleton County claimed another victim early Saturday morning, but authorities didn't think the deadly shooting was related to other recent killings.

Before the day was over, Colleton County deputies arrested and charged two men in the deadly shooting.

Timothy Sierra Kelly, 22, and Antwan Demetric McMillan, 21, both of the Smoaks community, were charged with murder. McMillan also was charged with possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime. Both men are being held in the Colleton County Detention Center.

Around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, deputies with the county Sheriff's Office found Keno Delean Nixon, 30, of Walterboro near the private club The Spot close to Smoaks. Nixon had been shot once in the face and was pronounced dead at the Colleton Medical Center, said county Coroner Rich Harvey.

Nixon is the fourth person to be killed in the county this month.

"It's out of control now," said Sheriff George Malone. "The violence in Colleton County is out of control. It is in other places too, but the only one I'm concerned with is Colleton County."

Malone said he didn't have any reason to think the killing was gang-related, but it might have been related to some other criminal activity.

The business near the killing, The Spot, hasn't caused the Sheriff's Office any problems in the past, and Malone wasn't sure whether the club had been open earlier that night. Nixon was shot outside the club on the highway.

State and local authorities have boosted patrols in and around Walterboro recently in hopes of ending the bloodshed that started nearly three weeks ago with a drive-by shooting that killed three people and wounded six others and a second shooting that wounded two more people. Officers have been focusing their efforts on areas near those crimes, but the place where Nixon was shot isn't near the site of previous shootings. It's about 20 miles away.

Malone pledged to do the best he could to help convict those responsible for the shootings. Residents need to work with law enforcement to send a message to criminals that they don't want this type of violence in their community, he said.

Malone didn't know what Nixon was doing out at 4 a.m., but he questioned what good can come from people being out at that time in the morning.

He didn't think the county's residents needed to be overly cautious if they are minding their own business and not getting into trouble, he said.

"I think most people can feel safe in their own environment -- the good citizens of Colleton County," Malone said.

He invited those with information about the incidents to talk to police. Anyone with information about the recent shootings should call Crime Stoppers at 554-1111.

Staff writer Andy Paras contributed to this report.