In the early morning hours of June 6, 2021, the life of 35-year-old Bryant Anthony Bowman of Manning, South Carolina, was tragically cut short. A Black male, Bowman was shot multiple times near a nightclub in the Paxville area of Clarendon County and died while being transported to McLeod Health Clarendon. His death, which authorities quickly ruled a homicide, sent ripples of sorrow and concern through the Manning community.
The investigation into Bowman's death moved swiftly, and on
June 9, 2021, the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office announced the arrests of three individuals. Joi Janae Hill, then 38, and her 22-year-old son, Jaquez Daquel Hill, were both charged with murder. A third individual, 33-year-old Shanaya Jonnale Larkins, was charged with accessory after the fact. The arrests brought a sense of hope for justice to a community grieving a man remembered affectionately as 'SLEEP.'
Subsequent court proceedings began to shed light on the events that transpired on the night of the shooting. During a preliminary hearing in July 2021, it was alleged that an altercation had occurred between Joi Hill and Bryant Bowman. Testimony suggested that Joi Hill then called her son, Jaquez, and asked him to bring her a gun. Witnesses reported seeing Jaquez Hill arrive at the scene with a firearm. After shots were fired, Bowman was left dying on the ground as the suspects reportedly fled. Initially, there was confusion regarding the shooter's identity, with an early warrant reportedly naming Joi Hill, though this was later amended to identify her son, Jaquez, as the gunman. Following the hearing, Joi Hill was granted a $75,000 surety bond with GPS monitoring, while her son, Jaquez Hill, was denied bond. The case was then bound over to the General Sessions court for further legal action. There is no publicly available information on the final disposition of the charges against Joi Janae Hill, Jaquez Daquel Hill, or Shanaya Jonnale Larkins.
