PAWLEYS ISLAND — Carrie Williams feels unsafe with Aiden Zasimovitch out of jail.
“I go to sleep every night, I’m up all night because I don’t know what to expect,” Williams said, with tearful eyes.
Williams and other family members addressed the community Thursday morning at the residence where Williams’ grandson, Deondre Brown, was shot to death on Dec. 11, 2019. Brown was shot outside his grandmother’s home, and Zasimovitch was arrested for the murder as well as armed robbery, according to a Georgetown County Sheriff's Office report.
Williams, along with Georgetown’s NAACP brand president Marvin Neal, are asking the community to not only donate to the family for legal fees, but also let those who were involved in Brown’s case and the release of Zasimovitch know that they want justice.
“We are asking the community to write letters to the judge and the solicitor, and anyone that affected this case, and let them know that this community is not safe with a killer outside,” Neal said.
On Oct. 21, 2020, Circuit Court Judge Steven John gave Zasimovitch a $32,500 bond and he was released from jail. The day after his release, Williams said Zasimovitch tried to contact Brown’s 15-year-old brother via Snapchat.
According to Williams, Zasimovitch sent Brown’s brother a friend request, canceled the friend request soon after, then sent another friend request only to cancel it again.
Williams said she sees these actions as Zasimovitch taunting her family, and thinks that the attempted contact should be enough to send Zasimovitch back to jail.
“(Zasimovitch) shouldn’t be out, that terrified my 15-year-old grandson,” Williams said. “He thought he was going to come after him like he came after (Brown).”
Neal said the law cannot just fit one part of the population, and that had Zasimovitch been Black, the story would have unfolded differently.
“This is not new, Trayvon Martin died at the hands of a white young man that is still walking the streets today,” Neal said.
Colby Barns, 18, was also arrested in connection to the case and charged with strong armed robbery and possession of crack and marijuana. Authorities also charged a 15-year-old in the case.