In the late summer evening of August 22, 2018, tragedy struck in the community of Winnsboro, South Carolina. Damontay Darius Wheeler, a 17-year-old Black male, was found with a fatal gunshot wound at Drawdy Park around 8 p.m. Emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene, near the west wall of the multi-purpose field, but upon arrival, paramedics determined that Wheeler was already deceased.
The Fairfield County Coroner later confirmed his identity and pronounced him dead at the scene.
Damontay was a rising senior at Fairfield Central High School, known by friends and family as a creative and respectful young man. He had a passion for cooking, both at his job at Italian Gardens and at home, where he would often share new recipes with his father and brother. Since childhood, he had a talent for drawing people, landscapes, and cartoons, and he hoped to pursue a career in art. His sudden death left his family and the local community in deep mourning, with a public viewing and Celebration of Life service held at his high school to honor his memory.
The Winnsboro Department of Public Safety, along with the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division immediately launched a homicide investigation. The authorities began to investigate the shooting as a possibly gang-related incident. Their investigation quickly led them to a suspect, Keonta Jaquez Johnson, an 18-year-old resident of Fairfax.
Investigators learned that Johnson had been in the Winnsboro area visiting a relative in Blackstock but had returned to Fairfax following the shooting. He was apprehended in Allendale and taken into custody. Keonta Jaquez Johnson was subsequently charged with the murder of Damontay Wheeler and was transported back to Winnsboro to face the charges.
