Agents of the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have filed multiple charges in connection with the death of a police officer in Lake City, S.C. last weekend.
Lake City lieutenant John Stewart – a Marine who spent twenty years in law enforcement – was struck and killed by a suspect during a vehicular pursuit last Friday (September 17, 2021).
According to local jail records, Jermaine Ryan M. Roberson, 29, of Olanta, S.C. has been charged by SLED with one count of involuntary manslaughter, one count of reckless homicide resulting in death, one count of hit-and-run resulting in death and one count of failure to stop for blue lights during an incident which resulted in death.
Witnesses to the carjacking incident and subsequent police pursuit claim Roberson deliberately steered the stolen vehicle he was driving into Stewart.
“He purposely ran him over,” a source familiar with the investigation told this news outlet.
Roberson was previously charged by the Florence county sheriff’s office with kidnapping, carjacking, assault and battery, failure to stop for blue lights and simple possession of marijuana in connection with the same incident.
(Click to view)
(Via: Florence County Detention Center)
As with anyone accused of committing any crime, Roberson is considered innocent until proven guilty by our criminal justice system – or until such time as he may wish to enter some form of allocution in connection with a plea agreement with prosecutors related to any of the charges filed against him.
Roberson remains incarcerated at the Florence county, S.C. detention center – having been denied bond on the first round of charges filed against him four days ago. His case will be handled by the office of S.C. twelfth circuit solicitor E.L. “Ed” Clements III.
Hopefully, Clements will do better on behalf of Stewart’s family than he has on behalf of other victims …
Earlier this week, Columbia, S.C.-based charity Serve & Connect – an organization which strives to build bridges between law enforcement officers and the communities they serve – created a memorial fund to support lieutenant Stewart’s family (including his two surviving sons) and to honor his memory.
Those interested in supporting this effort can do so by paying a visit to the Lt. John Stewart Memorial Fund.
This fund is a collaborative effort – with support from the Lake City police department, the S.C. Law Enforcement Officers Association (SCLEOA), South Carolina Police Chiefs Association (SCPCA), South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police (SCFOP) and the South Carolina Sheriff’s Association (SCSA).
UPDATE: SLED has just issued a news release including warrants for Roberson’s arrest.
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THE WARRANTS …
(Via: SLED)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
(Via: FITSNews)
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and seven children. And yes, he has LOTS of hats (including that Los Angeles Dodgers’ lid pictured above).
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