In the quiet town of Holly Hill, South Carolina, the life of 18-year-old Riquez Jayonte Williams was tragically cut short on the evening of Monday, March 23, 2020. Known to his friends and family, he was the victim of a fatal shooting.
That evening, just before 9:30 p.m., deputies from the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a male seated in a car in the middle of a roadway. Upon their arrival at the intersection of Rush and Barnes streets, just outside the town limits, they discovered a vehicle with its engine still running. Inside, they found Riquez unresponsive. Investigators believe that after being shot, he managed to drive a few blocks before succumbing to his injuries. The motive for the shooting was determined to be a robbery attempt.
The investigation into the death of the young man quickly progressed. Within days, authorities had identified and apprehended three suspects. Raynard Gardner, Jr., 21, and Daniel Bell, 24, both from Holly Hill, were the first to be taken into custody and were charged with murder.
Shortly after, the investigative efforts of the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, in collaboration with the U.S. Marshals Service, led to the arrest of a third individual. Twenty-one-year-old Cheron Williams was apprehended and also faced a murder charge in connection with the fatal ambush. The joint task force of sheriff's office personnel and U.S. Marshals took him into custody, bringing the number of those accused in the death of Riquez Williams to three.
