In the early morning hours of April 3, 2020, Sherrod Carlton Smith, a 31-year-old man from Wedgefield, South Carolina, was fatally shot while sitting in his vehicle in the backyard of a residence on South Main Street in Sumter. Smith was accompanied by a 37-year-old woman who managed to escape without physical harm. The incident occurred around 3 a.m.
when an unknown individual approached the parked car and opened fire.
Initially, the identity of the shooter was unknown, and the Sumter Police Department sought help from the public, offering a cash reward of up to $5,000 for information that could lead to an arrest. An investigation into the killing revealed that it was not an isolated event but rather the tragic culmination of a crime spree. Three individuals, Travon Ragin, Fredron Spann, and Justice Brock, were breaking into vehicles throughout the county that morning. Their path led them to the vehicle occupied by Smith and his friend.
The investigation determined that Travon Ragin was the one who opened the driver's side door and shot Smith in the arm. As Smith attempted to escape through the passenger side, Ragin fired again, this time inflicting a fatal gunshot wound to the head before robbing him. In the course of the investigation, Ragin was identified as the shooter, and he, along with Spann and Brock, were subsequently charged in connection with the murder.
In February 2025, nearly five years after the death of Sherrod Smith, justice was served at the Sumter County Judicial Center. Following a jury trial, Travon Ragin, then 26, was convicted of murder, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder, with concurrent sentences of 30 years for the armed robbery and five years for the weapons charge. The two other individuals involved, Fredron Spann and Justice Brock, had previously pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for their roles in the events of that night.
