In the early moments of December 19, 2016, a resident of North Charleston, South Carolina, 18-year-old Garrett Mitchell, was fatally shot. North Charleston Police officers were dispatched to the 4600 block of Lowell Drive shortly after midnight, where they discovered Garrett suffering from several gunshot wounds in the front yard of a residence. He was transported to a nearby hospital for medical attention but ultimately succumbed to his injuries.
The subsequent investigation into the
young man's death revealed a tragic story of a purported drug deal that was actually a setup for a robbery. A juvenile acquaintance of a man named Maulique Alexander Heyward testified that she had, at Heyward's request, lured Garrett to the Lowell Drive location under the pretense of a drug transaction. When Garrett arrived, he was confronted by Heyward and a co-defendant who proceeded to rob him of his cash, wallet, and cell phone.
During the robbery, a struggle ensued over a pistol that Garrett had produced. Heyward managed to disarm him and, despite Garrett's pleas for his life, shot him three times before fleeing the scene with his accomplice. The investigation led to the arrest of Maulique Alexander Heyward, who was 22 years old at the time. He was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime.
In August 2019, Maulique Heyward stood trial in a Charleston County courtroom. During the proceedings, he admitted to shooting Garrett but claimed it was an act of self-defense. However, the prosecution presented compelling evidence against him, including multiple incriminating phone calls Heyward had made from the Charleston County Detention Center. In these calls, he expressed a desire to harm the juvenile witness who had testified against him. The jury found Heyward guilty of murder and the associated weapons charge. Following the conviction, a circuit court judge sentenced him to a total of 45 years in prison: 40 years for the murder and an additional five years, to be served consecutively, for the weapon possession charge.
