In the winter of 2017, the life of Rodney Steven Isaac, a 23-year-old Black male, was tragically cut short in West Columbia, South Carolina. On the morning of February 8th, deputies from the Lexington County Sheriff's Department were dispatched to a residence on Princeton Road after receiving a 911 call about gunshots being fired. Upon their arrival, they discovered Mr. Isaac in the driveway, having sustained what was later determined to be a fatal gunshot wound.
The county coroner confirmed that he died at the scene from this single injury.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a person of interest, 25-year-old Kevin Lawrence Pearson of West Columbia, who was considered to be armed and dangerous. An arrest warrant was subsequently issued for Pearson, charging him with murder and criminal conspiracy. Investigators learned that the motive for the killing was likely retaliation. Approximately three weeks before Isaac's death, Pearson had been shot in a drive-by incident and believed that Isaac was involved. Evidence gathered from Pearson's cell phone and Facebook messages revealed that he had been actively trying to get others to shoot Isaac in the time leading up to the murder. One message sent just twelve hours before the shooting suggested that something would happen when he saw Isaac on Princeton Road.
Following the shooting, Pearson fled the scene in his sister's Honda Accord with a dog inside. A witness was able to provide the vehicle's license plate number to law enforcement. Pearson managed to evade capture for approximately sixteen months before he was apprehended in June of 2018. In November 2019, Kevin Lawrence Pearson, a validated gang member, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter for the death of Rodney Isaac. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, a conviction that under South Carolina law is classified as a 'no parole' offense. Funeral services for Rodney Steven Isaac were held at Leevy's Funeral Home, and he was laid to rest at the Lincoln Cemetery at Woodlawn.
