In the late hours of a September night in 2016, a sequence of events unfolded on U.S. 76 in Anderson County, South Carolina, that would tragically end the life of 18-year-old Courvocia 'C.J.' Hunter. The young man was a passenger in a Dodge Durango, cruising with two others, when their vehicle was pursued by a Chevrolet Cobalt. From the pursuing car, several rounds were fired into the Durango, striking both Hunter and the driver, Han'Drikus Webb.
What followed the shooting was a critical
failure to render aid that would later lead to additional charges. Instead of immediately seeking medical help for the wounded Hunter, the driver, Webb, and the other passenger, Markeese David Churchwell, allegedly continued to drive around. This delay in getting Hunter to a hospital was deemed by authorities to have contributed to his death on September 29, 2016. As a result, both Webb and Churchwell, both 18 at the time, were later charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The investigation into the shooting itself led to the arrests of three individuals from Anderson. Raheem Shabazz McCoppin, 23, Ladarias Deshon Strickland, 19, and Latrell Raequan Willingham, 17, were each charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Courvocia Hunter. The incident cut short a young life and left a web of legal consequences for those involved, both in the act of the shooting and in the crucial moments that followed.
