In the late hours of a November night in McCormick County, South Carolina, a dispute escalated into deadly violence, claiming the life of 44-year-old Joel Turner Jr. and his cousin. On November 24, 2017, what began as a fight inside Sapp's Bar and Grill spilled out into the parking lot, where the confrontation took a fatal turn. Turner and his 34-year-old cousin, Steven A. Banks, were both shot and killed during the altercation.
At the time of the incident, the bar was crowded with at least 100 patrons.
The investigation into the double homicide was conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division at the request of the McCormick County Sheriff's Office. Their efforts led to the arrests of four related men in February 2018. Two brothers, 22-year-old Jesse Cashawn Freeman III of McCormick and 27-year-old Travis Rashad Freeman of Spartanburg, were identified as the alleged shooters. Affidavits state that Jesse and Travis Freeman fatally shot Turner and Banks during the physical altercation in the bar's parking lot.
The two brothers were charged with murder and faced the possibility of the death penalty or a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years to life in prison if convicted. Their brother, 25-year-old Shiquan Marquez Freeman, and their cousin, 22-year-old Devin Tyrone Crapps, both from Spartanburg, were also arrested in connection with the crime. They were each charged with accessory after the fact to murder. Authorities alleged that Shiquan Freeman and Crapps fled the scene in the same vehicle as the shooters and failed to report the crime to law enforcement.
