In the late autumn of 2014, the small community of Bishopville, South Carolina, was shaken by a grim series of events that began with the disappearance of a local teenager. Shakez Bracey, a 17-year-old male, was reported missing on Friday, September 26, 2014. A search for the young man ended in tragedy when his body was discovered on Tuesday, September 30, 2014, in a wooded area off Old English Lane.
An investigation by the Lee County Sheriff's Department quickly determined that Bracey had been shot to death.
The inquiry into Bracey's death revealed a story of a dispute turned deadly. Investigators believe that Bracey was killed over a disagreement about money with his 18-year-old cousin, Dontrell Fortune. On the night he went missing, Bracey was reportedly led into the woods by Fortune and three other individuals and was fatally shot. This act of violence, however, was not the end of the bloodshed. In a swift and brutal act of retribution, Dontrell Fortune was shot and killed the following morning, on Saturday, September 27, 2014.
The ensuing investigation led to a number of arrests in connection with both homicides, which authorities described as complex and gang-related. For the murder of Shakez Bracey, law enforcement arrested Oszhane Simon and two 16-year-old minors, Markel and Darren Fortune, who were to be charged as adults. In the retaliatory killing of Dontrell Fortune, several individuals were taken into custody and faced charges. Davon Tyrell McFadden, Kevin Oneal White, Sunallah Sadat Liles, and Kalvon Goodman were all charged with murder. Additionally, Sarah Wright Goodman and Gewanna Laretta Burton were arrested on charges of accessory after the fact. The rapid succession of these violent events and the number of young lives lost or forever altered left the Bishopville community grappling with the devastating consequences.
