Cellphone records helped Charleston County sheriff's deputies put a homicide victim and suspect together at the time of the slaying, according to court documents.
Fitzgerald "Scrappy" Byas, 24, of Cherry Hill Road, Hollywood, is charged with murder in connection with the March 12 shooting death of James E. Guyton Jr. He is being held in the Cannon Detention Center pending a bond hearing.
Guyton, 32, of West Ashley, was found lying face-down in a ditch at the corner of Chaplins Landing and Creek roads. He had been shot multiple times.
Byas was arrested Monday after he went to the Sheriff's Office for questioning in the case, sheriff's Maj. John Clark said.
Guyton's girlfriend told investigators that Guyton got up, got dressed and left after getting a call on his cell phone, the warrant said. Cell phone records indicate the victim and suspect were together from 2:40 a.m. until the time of the shooting.
Investigators suspect another person was present and there may be an additional arrest, Clark said.
According to criminal background checks with the State Law Enforcement Division, both the Guyton and Byas have extensive criminal records.
Guyton has a seven-page rap sheet that starts with a conviction for possession of marijuana in 1995 and contains convictions for drugs, robbery and larceny. He was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2005 after being convicted of three counts of strong-arm robbery.
In October 1988, Guyton was shot in the buttocks during an argument in the parking lot of an Orange Grove Road apartment complex, according to newspaper archives.
Byas was convicted of strong-arm robbery in 2003 and given a sentence not to exceed five years under the Youthful Offender Act. In January 2005, he was arrested on weapons charges and given six months in prison, with credit for time served while awaiting trial. He was arrested and convicted on misdemeanor drug charges in May 2005 and his parole was revoked in July 2005 and again in October 2007.
In July 2008, Byas was convicted of strong-arm robbery in connection with a 2007 case and given five years of probation. According to the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, he is still on probation.
Byas was charged with armed robbery in June 2009 and possession of cocaine in October 2010. Both charges are still pending.