In a quiet home on Antelope Drive in the Dalzell area of South Carolina, a grim discovery was made on August 19, 2022. Richard 'Ricky' Leroy Preusser, a 45-year-old male, was found unresponsive. Initially, a 911 caller suggested the cause might be a drug overdose, but the reality of the situation was far more sinister. When Sumter County Sheriff's Office deputies arrived, they found Preusser deceased inside a bedroom closet.
Upon closer examination, both deputies and the Sumter County
Coroner's Office observed that Preusser had sustained a gunshot wound to the upper right side of his chest. This immediately shifted the focus of the investigation from a possible overdose or suicide to a suspicious death. An autopsy later confirmed that a gunshot wound to the chest was the cause of death. The investigation was now being treated as a homicide.
There were two other individuals present in the residence, both identified as Preusser's roommates. One of these roommates, James Edward Barnes, 40, provided a false name to the authorities during initial questioning. After leaving the scene and attempting to evade law enforcement, Barnes was located the following day. During further questioning, he gave several inconsistent accounts of the events, which quickly made him a prime suspect in Preusser's death.
Investigators were able to recover a firearm that they believe was used in the incident. More than a week after Preusser's death, arrest warrants were issued for Barnes. He was subsequently charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Barnes was taken into custody and booked at the Sumter County Sheriff's Office Detention Center to await a bond hearing. Sheriff Anthony Dennis described the killing as an isolated incident.
