In the late hours of Memorial Day, May 25, 2020, a festive pool party on Seaside Road on St. Helena Island took a tragic turn. Amidst a crowd of over 100 attendees, 27-year-old Malcolm Moore of Beaufort was shot. First responders were called to the scene around 9:55 p.m. where they found Moore wounded. He was transported by Beaufort County Emergency Medical Services to Beaufort Memorial Hospital, but succumbed to his gunshot wounds en route.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office
investigators and Crime Scene Unit immediately began an extensive investigation. Despite the large number of potential witnesses at the party, no suspects were immediately identified. For over a year, investigators diligently pursued the case, conducting numerous interviews to piece together the events of that night.
The breakthrough in the case came in June 2021. Through witness interviews, investigators were able to identify two men as the individuals responsible for Malcolm Moore's death. On June 9, 2021, arrest warrants were issued for 22-year-old Tey'Veon Smalls of Ridgeland and 25-year-old James Stafford Jr. of St. Helena. Both men were charged with Murder and Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime.
On June 23, 2021, Tey'Veon Smalls was located and arrested in Ridgeland with the assistance of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. Two days later, on June 25, James Stafford Jr. turned himself in to deputies in Beaufort. Both suspects were incarcerated at the Beaufort County Detention Center.
