In the quiet town of Hardeeville, South Carolina, a life was tragically cut short on the evening of Sunday, March 2, 2014. Taj Lewis Garvin, a 25-year-old male, was found deceased in his Honda Accord on Church Road. The vehicle was riddled with multiple bullet holes, telling a grim story of the violence that had unfolded. Deputies from the Jasper County Sheriff's Office were called to the scene shortly before 8 p.m. following reports of gunfire.
Inside the car, they discovered Garvin, a resident of Hardeeville, who had succumbed to his injuries.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect. The Jasper County Sheriff's Office, in conjunction with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, identified Travis Wiggins, 22, as the individual allegedly responsible for the fatal shooting. A warrant was issued for his arrest on the charge of murder. The pursuit of Wiggins extended into the neighboring town of Bluffton, where he initially managed to evade capture by fleeing from S.C. Law Enforcement Division officers.
The manhunt for Wiggins concluded on a Friday afternoon in Bluffton's University Park community. He was apprehended by SLED officers and taken into custody. While searching for Wiggins at a Hardeeville hotel, investigators did not find him but did arrest two of his acquaintances, Marion Roshawn Loury and Demetrius Marquist Hugue, on unrelated drug and firearm charges. Wiggins was subsequently held at the Jasper County Detention Center without bond.
