In the late summer of 2019, the community of Lincolnville, South Carolina, was shaken by a grim discovery. On August 27th, authorities responded to a report of a vehicle fire. Inside the burning car, they found the body of 20-year-old Robert Rutlin. An autopsy would later reveal that the young man had died from a gunshot wound.
The investigation into the death of Robert Rutlin, a resident of nearby Ladson, quickly became a homicide case.
Within a couple of days, law enforcement officials announced that they had made an arrest. The suspect was identified as Tyrell Cleveland. While the exact motive and the circumstances that led to the fatal encounter were not immediately made public, the arrest brought a swift, if unsettling, development to the case.
Following his arrest, Tyrell Cleveland was charged with murder in connection with the death of Robert Rutlin. He was also charged with possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The case then proceeded through the Charleston County judicial system. In September 2021, Tyrell Cleveland's case went to trial. After the presentation of evidence and testimony, a jury found him guilty of murder. For his role in the death of Robert Rutlin, Tyrell Cleveland was sentenced to 50 years in prison.
