In the spring of 2017, a block party on Winetta Street in Laurens, South Carolina, turned into a scene of chaos and violence that left two men dead, including 43-year-old Sidney Speaks. The gathering, attended by over 300 people on the night of May 20th, escalated into a double shooting. When law enforcement and emergency services arrived, they discovered both Speaks and 26-year-old Roydrecilious Irby with gunshot wounds.
Both men were transported to a nearby hospital, where they ultimately succumbed to their injuries. An autopsy would later reveal that Speaks had been shot once with a high-caliber weapon, while Irby suffered multiple gunshot wounds from a smaller caliber firearm.
The investigation that followed the deadly block party led to a series of arrests as the Laurens County Sheriff's Office, with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, worked to piece together the events of that tragic night. The first arrests were not for murder but for charges related to the mayhem that erupted. Two women, Alexius Long and Alexus Coleman, were charged with breach of peace of a high and aggravated nature for allegedly firing shots into the air, contributing to the pandemonium. Steven Redd was also taken into custody and charged with assault and battery in the first degree.
As the investigation deepened, authorities identified Johnny Lee Pyles Jr. as a suspect in the murders. However, before deputies could apprehend him, they received a call and went to a residence in Fountain Inn to serve the arrest warrant. Upon entering the home, they found Pyles with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was transported for medical treatment but did not survive.
The case continued to unfold with more arrests. Sterling Orlando Workman was charged with obstructing justice and breach of peace of an aggravated nature. Another man, Michael Dewayne Watts, was arrested and faced a charge of assault and battery in the first degree. The numerous arrests painted a picture of a chaotic event where multiple individuals engaged in violent acts, culminating in the tragic deaths of Sidney Speaks and Roydrecilious Irby, forever altering the lives of their families and the Laurens community.
