In the winter of 2019, the life of 16-year-old Joshua Meeks, a junior and honor roll student at Mauldin High School, was tragically cut short. His mother reported him missing on January 30th after he failed to return home after telling her he was going to a Cook Out restaurant with friends the previous evening.
The investigation into his disappearance quickly took a grim turn when his Toyota Corolla was discovered parked at the Rocky Creek Apartments on Woodruff Road.
Inside the vehicle, investigators found a significant amount of blood covering the passenger seat. The search for the missing teen came to a heartbreaking end on the morning of January 31st, when his body was found along a dirt road in Laurens County, about 26 miles from where his car was located. The coroner later confirmed that Joshua had died from a gunshot wound.
Authorities soon determined that Joshua's death was the result of a drug deal that had gone terribly wrong. The investigation led to the swift arrests of three teenagers. Sosa Mandiez Croft, 18, and a 16-year-old male whose name was not released due to his age, were both charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime, armed robbery, and grand larceny. Croft was apprehended at his home, where police found him hiding under his bed.
A third suspect, 18-year-old Lyric Mone Lawson, was also taken into custody and charged with accessory after the fact to murder. It was alleged that she assisted in concealing and transporting Joshua's body after the fatal shooting.
In the aftermath, Sosa Croft faced justice for his role in the crime. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. An appeal of his conviction was later denied, upholding his life sentence.
