Man accused of beating brother to death

A Sunday afternoon argument between two brothers at a North Charleston mobile home ended with one dead and the other behind bars, accused of beating his brother to death with a walking stick.

Charles Edward Roundtree, 52, of Tipson Street, is charged with murder. Jimmy M. Roundtree, 62, also of Tipson Street, was found dead in his trailer about 3:30 p.m., according to police reports.

When police arrived, a man walked up to the approaching officer and said, "I didn't mean to do it. I didn't mean to hit my brother. It's just that he's always messing with me," according to the police report.

Overcome with emotion, the man fell to the ground, the report stated. The officer handcuffed the man and put him in the back of a patrol car.

A witness told police that the two brothers had been arguing "in the living room near the kitchen as usual," the report stated. One of the brothers went to another room and picked up a metal walking stick and struck his brother on the head and neck with it, the report said.

The brother who had been hit fell to the floor, apparently losing consciousness. He came to for a moment and told the witness he could not breathe, the report said.

The witness moved the victim onto a couch and went out to find a phone he could use to call 911. When he returned, a neighbor advised him that the victim had stopped breathing.

Charles Roundtree was being held in Charleston County Detention Center after a bond hearing before county Magistrate Alvin Bligen on Monday night. According to court employees, Roundtree had been told that his brother was dead only moments before the bond hearing.

There were no family members on hand for Roundtree and he did not have a lawyer.

During his bond hearing, Roundtree spoke briefly on his own behalf, saying that a new roommate was "causing confusion by trying to get me to smoke marijuana." He also said he was in his current situation "with the help of my brother pushing me to the limit."

His brother was getting senile, he said. He was accusing him of things he had not done and they were arguing a lot, Roundtree said

Bligen listened attentively but he was unable to set bond. By law, magistrates cannot set bail on a murder charge. Only a circuit judge can set bail on a murder charge.

Reach David W. MacDougall at macdougd@postandcourier.com or 937-5655.