On a Friday evening in Columbia, South Carolina, a business transaction turned into a fatal encounter for James Dexter Grant, a 30-year-old male from Rembert. On February 17, 2017, Grant and another man traveled to the Colony Apartments on Bailey Street with the intention of selling a car to a resident. The situation escalated into a robbery, during which Grant was shot multiple times in the upper body.
First responders rushed Grant to Palmetto Health Richland Memorial Hospital, but the
wounds proved to be too severe. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead later that evening. The cause of his death was determined to be complications from multiple gunshot wounds to his torso. The Columbia Police Department immediately launched an investigation into the homicide, seeking information from the public to help identify those responsible for the violent act that cut a young man's life short.
The investigation quickly led to a person of interest. Within days, law enforcement officials, with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and the Richland County Sheriff's Department, located and arrested 21-year-old DaQuan James McCoy. He was found in a vehicle in the parking lot of a Dollar General on Bluff Road. Following his apprehension, McCoy was charged with murder and armed robbery in connection with the shooting death of James Dexter Grant.
The police investigation continued as they believed another individual was involved in the incident. A short time later, a second suspect, 21-year-old Raheem Nyjal Thomas, was arrested on Prescott Road. He faced the same charges of murder and armed robbery. Both suspects were accused of planning to rob Grant during the prearranged car sale. Following their arrests, Thomas and McCoy were both held at the Richland County jail.
