In the summer of 2022, a wave of violence shook the community of Aiken, South Carolina, culminating in the tragic death of 17-year-old Willie L. Garrett IV. On the afternoon of June 26th, deputies responded to reports of gunfire on Wadley Drive. Arriving at the scene, they discovered a grim tableau: three male teenagers lying on the ground with gunshot wounds.
Garrett and 16-year-old Ivan Perry were pronounced dead at the scene, while 16-year-old Cameron Carroll, Garrett's cousin, was rushed to Augusta University Medical Center, where he too succumbed to his injuries. All three victims were students at Aiken High School.
Witnesses described a heated argument between the victims and three male suspects who fled the scene in a black Hyundai. The Aiken County Sheriff's Office quickly launched an investigation, which they soon characterized as a hunt for those responsible for a 'senseless' and 'needless loss of life.' The killings were linked to a surge in local gang activity. The investigation led to the swift identification of three suspects: 18-year-old Xabian Bailey, 20-year-old Alvin Artis IV, and an unnamed 15-year-old.
The day after the shooting, Xabian Bailey was apprehended and taken into custody. A few days later, the 15-year-old suspect, later identified as Antonio Jones, turned himself in to the authorities. The third suspect, Alvin Artis IV, who was already wanted for failing to appear in court on a separate weapons charge, went on the run, sparking a months-long manhunt. The search for Artis stretched across state lines and culminated in his capture in Lawton, Oklahoma, in November 2022 by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and local police.
The wheels of justice turned for the three accused. Antonio Jones, who was 15 at the time of the killings, pleaded guilty to three counts of voluntary manslaughter and received three 25-year sentences. Xabian Bailey was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to three life terms. The final chapter of the case closed in September 2025, when Alvin Artis IV was found guilty on three counts of murder following a week-long trial. He was subsequently sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison. The prosecution successfully argued that the murders were premeditated and gang-related, bringing a close to a case that had deeply affected the Aiken community.
