The life of Knowledge Jamarion Trip Geter was cut short on the evening of December 18, 2019, in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The 15-year-old Black male was traveling as a backseat passenger in a black Mazda sedan along Hillandale Road when the vehicle came under fire near a dead-end section of the street. During the sudden burst of violence, bullets struck the teenager, inflicting critical injuries.
The driver of the vehicle, who was not harmed in the attack, immediately rushed the wounded youth to Spartanburg Medical Center in a desperate bid for survival. Despite the emergency medical attention, the injuries proved fatal, and he died shortly after arriving at the hospital.
Law enforcement officers from the Spartanburg Police Department launched a homicide investigation, initially struggling to determine a motive for the shooting which occurred near a vacant property that had recently undergone renovations. Investigators collected evidence from the scene and appealed to the community for leads, noting that the victim did not reside in that specific neighborhood. A breakthrough came weeks later when a tip from the public guided detectives to a suspect. On January 22, 2020, police arrested 19-year-old Kerion Dvante Garrett at his home, taking him into custody without incident.
Following the arrest, authorities charged Garrett with murder, possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and three counts of attempted murder, reflecting the danger posed to the other occupants of the vehicle during the shooting. At a bond hearing held the next day, a judge denied bond for the murder charge, ensuring Garrett remained incarcerated at the Spartanburg County Detention Center. Bonds were set for the additional charges, but the severity of the capital offense kept the suspect behind bars while the legal process moved forward. Years later, federal civil court filings indicated that Garrett remained in custody at the detention center as a pretrial detainee, with the criminal case proceedings extending over a significant period.
