In the early morning hours of December 19, 2021, a passerby on a South Carolina road made a grim discovery that would unravel a story of a meeting arranged online turning deadly. Jamal Jermaine Alston, a 24-year-old male, was found bloodied but still conscious, walking along S.C. Highway 66 near the border of Newberry and Laurens counties. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was able to give deputies a limited account of what had transpired, stating that a white male and a white female
he had picked up from a gas station were responsible and had taken his car. Alston was transported to a trauma center, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries later that day.
The investigation into Alston's death quickly pieced together the events leading to the fatal shooting. Investigators learned that Alston had connected with 19-year-old Blaize Pedro Plaza through a social networking website. In the late hours of the previous night or early that Sunday morning, Alston had driven to a location on S.C. 66 to pick up Plaza and a female companion. After driving for a short time, Plaza asked Alston to pull over so he could relieve himself. When Plaza returned to the vehicle, he found the doors locked. After Alston unlocked them, Plaza opened fire, shooting Alston several times. Alston managed to get out of the car and run into the nearby woods, but Plaza pursued him, continuing to shoot.
Following the assault, Plaza and his female companion stole Alston’s 2015 Honda Accord. They drove to Eaves Road in the neighboring Union County, where they set the vehicle on fire in an attempt to destroy any evidence. While authorities were investigating the scene where Alston was found, they were alerted to the car fire and later confirmed the burned vehicle belonged to the victim. The investigation, which involved law enforcement from Newberry, Laurens, and Union counties, as well as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, swiftly identified Plaza as the primary suspect.
Within a day of the incident, Blaize Pedro Plaza was taken into custody. He was subsequently charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and grand larceny. His girlfriend, who was the other passenger, corroborated the sequence of events. Just days before his trial was set to begin, Plaza pleaded guilty to the murder of Jamal Jermaine Alston. He was sentenced to serve 30 years in prison for his role in the senseless act of violence that cut a young man's life short.
