In the early hours of January 12, 2017, a violent encounter in a room at the Lazy G Motel in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, claimed the life of 33-year-old Rashad Lamar Atkins. The incident, which occurred shortly after midnight at the motel located at 408 27th Ave. N., was later described by officials as a drug-related robbery. Atkins was shot during the altercation and was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Originally from High Point, North Carolina,
where he was known to friends as 'RJ,' Atkins had relocated to Myrtle Beach, where he lived with his wife and children. He was a graduate of T. Wingate Andrews High School and had attended Guilford Technical Community College.
The investigation into the shooting led Myrtle Beach police to identify two suspects from Loris, South Carolina: Larry Tranell Carter, then 22, and Malik Crawford, who was 19 at the time. Both men were subsequently arrested and faced a string of serious charges, including murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. Carter was apprehended in Rock Hill, while Crawford was taken into custody in Conway. Witnesses who were present in the motel room at the time of the shooting identified Carter as the individual who shot Atkins.
In June 2021, Larry Carter pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter for his role in Atkins' death. He was sentenced to 18 years in prison and is not eligible for parole. At the time of Carter's plea deal, the murder and armed robbery charges against Malik Crawford were still pending, though the kidnapping and weapons charges had been dropped.
