On a spring morning in South Carolina, the body of 23-year-old Malik Kluttz of Irmo was discovered on the side of Interstate 26. It was Sunday, April 7, 2019, near the Laurens and Newberry County line, when authorities were called to the scene. An autopsy would later confirm that Kluttz had sustained two gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the death of the young man, a male, quickly led law enforcement to a suspect.
Ervin Chauncey Meggett, a 22-year-old from Irmo, was taken into custody at his home the same day Kluttz's body was found. The Laurens County Sheriff's Office announced that Meggett was charged with murder in connection with the death.
According to investigators, the tragic events unfolded as Kluttz, Meggett, and a woman were returning to the Columbia area from a trip to North Carolina. An argument broke out between the two men while they were in a vehicle, which escalated to the point where Meggett allegedly shot Kluttz. Following the shooting, Kluttz's body was left on the roadside of I-26.
Multiple law enforcement agencies, including the Irmo Police Department, the Richland County Sheriff's Office, the Newberry County Sheriff's Office, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division collaborated on the investigation, leading to the swift arrest of Meggett. While details of the arrest and the alleged motive have been publicly released, information regarding the outcome of the murder charge against Ervin Chauncey Meggett, including any trial or conviction, is not available in the provided online sources.
