In the early hours of May 28, 2016, a life was tragically cut short outside of Club Leon's in the small community of Round O, South Carolina. Jesse Neal Shannon Guy, a 38-year-old security guard from Dorchester, was fatally shot while on duty. The incident unfolded as Guy and a fellow security guard, Bruce Martin, attempted to de-escalate a physical altercation that had erupted near the club's closing time.
The fight involved the brother of Andre Nicholas Crawford, a 25-year-old man from
Walterboro. As the security guards intervened, one of them used a Taser on Crawford's brother in an attempt to subdue him. In response to this, Crawford, who had been standing nearby, produced a firearm and shot both Guy and Martin. Jesse Guy succumbed to his injuries and passed away at a local hospital. Martin was seriously wounded but ultimately survived the attack.
The investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Colleton County Sheriff's Office with assistance from the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division. A crucial piece of evidence in the case came from a bullet that was surgically removed from the surviving victim, Bruce Martin. Although the firearm used in the shooting was never recovered, SLED ballistics experts were able to confirm that the bullet extracted from Martin was fired from the same weapon as the one that killed Jesse Guy. Furthermore, Martin was able to identify Andre Nicholas Crawford as the individual who had shot both him and Guy.
Andre Nicholas Crawford was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with the shooting. In June of 2018, a jury found him guilty of murder for the death of Jesse Guy, attempted murder for the shooting of Bruce Martin, possession of a deadly weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and obstruction of justice. For these crimes, Crawford was sentenced to a total of 40 years in prison. He received a 35-year sentence for murder, a concurrent 30-year sentence for attempted murder, and a concurrent 10-year sentence for obstruction of justice. An additional five years were added for the weapons charge, to be served consecutively.
