In the early morning hours of June 17, 2021, the life of 26-year-old ChaQuan Cortez Bellamy was tragically cut short in a burst of gunfire on Highway 9 in Longs, South Carolina. Bellamy was a passenger in a Jeep when another vehicle pulled alongside, and a shooter unleashed a volley of bullets that riddled the passenger side of the vehicle. The assailant's car then sped away, leaving a scene of violence in its wake.
Horry County police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 700 block of Freemont Road. There, they discovered Bellamy lying in the driveway next to a dark blue Jeep Latitude, its engine still running. The Horry County Coroner's Office also responded to the scene. An autopsy would later reveal that Bellamy died from a single gunshot wound to the head.
For nearly two months, details about the homicide remained scarce. The Horry County Coroner's Office did not publicly identify Bellamy, and the Horry County Police Department, while acknowledging a shooting had occurred, did not initially classify it as a homicide. It was only after inquiries from the media that officials confirmed Bellamy's identity and the nature of his death.
The investigation led authorities across state lines to Tabor City, North Carolina, where an arrest was made almost two months after the fatal shooting. Jaylon Hemingway, 18 years old at the time, was taken into custody and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, and discharging a firearm into a dwelling. He was subsequently held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center without bond to await legal proceedings.
