In the early morning hours of February 13, 2016, a single gunshot shattered the quiet of a Camden, South Carolina neighborhood, leaving 17-year-old Brandon Scott Spencer dead. The male teenager, a father to a young son, was found in the road about 35 yards from the home of Jimmy Joe Methe, having sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the back of the head. The events leading to this tragic conclusion began to unfold around 3 a.m.
when Methe, then 49, discovered Spencer and another individual allegedly attempting to steal items from his pickup truck.
Methe told investigators that after he confronted them, Spencer and his companion fled the scene. He claimed to have shouted warnings for them to stop and that he would shoot. As they ran, Methe fired his weapon, striking Spencer. When Kershaw County Sheriff's deputies arrived at Methe's Norden Drive residence, he informed them that he had shot someone. Investigators found a gas can and a hose near Methe's truck, suggesting an attempt to siphon gasoline. The person who was with Spencer at the time of the incident fled and was not immediately identified.
Following the shooting, Jimmy Joe Methe was arrested and charged with voluntary manslaughter. Kershaw County Sheriff Jim Matthews stated that the charge was appropriate because Spencer was fleeing the scene, and therefore, the state's 'Stand Your Ground' law did not apply. The law, he explained, does not permit the use of deadly force against someone who is stealing and running away. An autopsy later confirmed that Spencer had been shot in the back of the head. Methe, a military veteran who served in Desert Storm, was cooperative with the authorities and was later released on a $200,000 bond.
The case took a significant turn in March 2016 when a Kershaw County grand jury reviewed the evidence. Despite the sheriff's stance and the circumstances of the shooting, the grand jury declined to indict Jimmy Joe Methe on the voluntary manslaughter charge. This decision meant that the criminal charge against him was dismissed. The sheriff expressed his disappointment with the outcome, stating that he believed the case should have been presented to a trial jury. During the investigation, it was revealed that Spencer was allegedly the leader of a group involved in a prior armed robbery. However, on the night of his death, he was not found to be in possession of any of Methe's property.
