In the early morning hours of a Tuesday in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, the life of 42-year-old Waltez Latham was tragically cut short. On July 22, 2025, Horry County Police officers were dispatched to a residence on Waties Drive around 4 a.m. following reports of a shooting. Upon their arrival, they discovered a grim scene. In the backyard of the home, they found Waltez Latham suffering from a gunshot wound.
Another individual had also been injured in the incident and was transported to a local hospital by a private vehicle. Latham was rushed to Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal.
The investigation into the shooting quickly pointed to a suspect with a violent past. Swava Lamares McCrea, a 36-year-old from Myrtle Beach, was identified as the alleged shooter. According to arrest warrants, witness reports placed McCrea at the scene of the crime, though he had fled before law enforcement arrived. Less than a month after Latham's death, on August 13, 2025, McCrea was taken into custody by the Horry County Police. He was subsequently charged with murder and possession of a weapon by a felon. At the time of his arrest, McCrea was being held at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center.
This was not McCrea's first encounter with the law. He had a criminal history that included a 2015 conviction for a fatal carjacking and shooting that occurred in Myrtle Beach in 2013. For that crime, he had been sentenced to serve 10 years in prison. Following his arrest for the death of Waltez Latham, the community was left to mourn the loss of a man known to some as 'Tez,' who worked at UPS and was a father. Funeral services were held for him at the end of July, offering a moment for loved ones to remember a life taken too soon. The legal proceedings against Swava Lamares McCrea for the murder of Waltez Latham are pending.
