In the early morning hours of July 24, 2018, a dispute that began inside a Pawleys Island nightclub tragically spilled out into the street, ending the life of 24-year-old Lamar Easterling. A former student of Waccamaw High School, Easterling was remembered as a caring, humorous, and loving young man who never met a stranger. The altercation, which started as an argument, escalated with fatal consequences outside the club on Petigru Drive.
Witnesses reported that an argument between
Easterling and another man, identified as 27-year-old Damien Chevere Grate, moved from inside the club to the exterior. It was there that Grate shot Easterling in the chest. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, a crowd of onlookers reportedly attacked Grate. When Georgetown County Sheriff's deputies arrived at the scene around 2:30 a.m., they discovered two injured individuals on the ground. Easterling was rushed to Waccamaw Hospital, but he ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Grate was also transported to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center for treatment of the injuries he sustained in the altercation with the crowd.
The Georgetown County Sheriff's Office quickly identified Damien Chevere Grate as the suspect in the shooting. He was arrested and charged with murder, felon in possession of a handgun, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. The investigation revealed that the deadly encounter was an isolated incident, and authorities assured the public that there was no further threat to the community. This assurance came as a relief to a community shaken by what was described as a rare occurrence of such violence in Pawleys Island.
In June 2019, the legal proceedings against Damien Chevere Grate reached their conclusion. In a Georgetown County courtroom, Grate pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter. Following his plea, a judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison for his role in the death of Lamar Easterling, bringing a close to a case that had deeply affected the Pawleys Island community.
