On a cool March evening in Goose Creek, South Carolina, the life of Guma Oz Dubar, a 46-year-old African-American taxi driver, came to a violent and tragic end. In the early hours of March 5, 2016, Dubar, accompanied by his friend James Cody Newland, 32, gave a ride to 39-year-old James Edward Loftis from a local strip club. The ride concluded at Loftis's home, but what transpired next turned a routine trip into a double homicide.
According to Loftis's own account to the police, an
argument erupted over the cab fare. He claimed that Dubar and Newland demanded money and attempted to force their way into his house. In what he would later describe as an act of self-defense, Loftis retrieved a. 45-caliber handgun and shot both men multiple times. The events that followed were gruesome. Loftis attempted to conceal the crime by dragging the bodies of Dubar and Newland into his backyard, where he placed them in a shallow grave and set them on fire in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
The crime came to light when Loftis's wife returned home. After her husband confessed to the killings, she contacted the police. Upon their arrival, authorities discovered the gruesome scene in the backyard. Loftis was arrested and charged with two counts of murder. In the ensuing legal proceedings, Loftis’s defense attorney argued that his client acted under the state's 'Stand Your Ground' law, which allows for the use of deadly force in self-defense when a person believes they are in imminent danger. This defense was central to the case, and despite the disturbing nature of the crime, a judge granted Loftis a $250,000 bond, and he was placed on house arrest.
The case, however, would never reach a trial. Before a jury could hear the evidence and decide his fate, James Edward Loftis died on December 2, 2018. His death brought an unexpected and unresolved end to the legal proceedings, leaving the families of Guma Dubar and James Newland without the full measure of justice they had sought.
