In the midst of the holiday season, on November 25, 2020, the life of 27-year-old Marcelis Haynes was tragically cut short in a senseless act of violence on Interstate 26 in Charleston, South Carolina. Haynes was a passenger in a dark-colored Volkswagen traveling eastbound when another vehicle, a white Toyota Camry, pulled alongside. The driver of the Camry, later identified as Kimani Demetrius Pinckney, opened fire on the Volkswagen, striking both occupants.
Despite being rushed to a local hospital, Haynes succumbed to his injuries. The driver of the Volkswagen was also injured in the shooting but survived.
The investigation into the shooting led law enforcement to utilize surveillance footage from the interstate and nearby businesses to identify the shooter's vehicle and ultimately Pinckney as the perpetrator. A witness to the event recounted seeing the white Toyota Camry swerve in front of them before the driver fired multiple shots into the Volkswagen. Further investigation, including the analysis of cellphone records, placed Pinckney at the scene of the crime. He was arrested on December 9, 2020, and initially faced charges of murder and attempted murder.
The legal proceedings that followed brought some measure of closure to the family of Marcelis Haynes. In court, Haynes's grandmother spoke of the profound sorrow her family has endured and the impact his death will have on his two children, Marlayzah Ranae Haynes and Jordan Romardo Haynes. On February 20, 2025, Kimani Demetrius Pinckney pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. The presiding judge, remarking on the senselessness of the gun violence, sentenced Pinckney to 20 years in prison. Pinckney received credit for the more than four years he had already served in pre-trial detention.
