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The two are part of a four-person group who deputies came up with a plan to rob a pizza delivery man.
Lexington County Sheriff James Metts says Saturday night, four men ordered pizza to a house on Avery Place Drive with the intent of robbing whomever delivered it. None of the four lived there and officials say the homeowner did not realize his home was being used for a robbery.
Pizza Hut delivery man Christopher Miller, 43, says he showed up at the home at 10:30 p.m. and 17-year-old Paul Sturgill was standing on the sidewalk waiting for him.
Officials say soon after Miller got out of the car, two other men ran at him from the woods. When Miller started running away, that’s when authorities say Sturgill continually tried beating him in the face.
Miller, who has a concealed weapons permit, says he pulled out .45 caliber handgun that he had in his fanny pack and shot Sturgill in his chest. Sturgill was taken to the hospital where he later died.
The three other suspects ran.
Lexington County officials arrested Beckham at the home of the alleged robber who died early Sunday morning. Dates was arrested around the same time.
The final suspect, Justin Roundtree, turned himself over to authorities around 9:15 Sunday night.
Avery Place Drive looks like the perfect place to get outside and enjoy the sun. But Saturday night, one resident encountered a much darker scene. “There was a man holding a gun, the Pizza Hut delivery guy holding a gun. He was talking to the police officer or the operator and there was also another guy, a young teenager laying on the ground with blood everywhere,” he says.
Not knowing who was the suspect and who was the shooter, this resident’s aunt called 911 and heard the details from the operator, who had the delivery driver on the other line. “They had asked him if he had change for a hundred and he said no, and then one guy just started punching him,” she says.
Deputies say that’s when Miller began backing up. But, when more people came out of the woods, his gun made an appearance too. “It appears to me he acted in self-defense, but I can’t make that decision until the investigation is complete,” says Metts.
Deputies are looking into whether the robbery was gang-related, but residents here say it wouldn’t surprise them if it was. They say there’s been a dramatic increase in crime here over the past year. “It’s really scary, because we used to never have no problems. All this recently, it’s just been one thing after another,” one resident says.
They’re hoping this latest crime will be the last, to make sure the youngest member of the family won’t have to feel their fear in his own home. “I have a little cousin in there and I don’t want him to be around that,” says the male resident.
An autopsy will be performed Monday on Sturgill.
Miller has not been charged in connection to the shooting, but the incident remains under investigation.
Jason Beckham, 18, and Carlos Dates, 20 appeared before a magistrate at the Lexington County Detention Center. The judge set bond at $250,000 for both men.
The two are part of a four-person group who deputies came up with a plan to rob a pizza delivery man.
Lexington County Sheriff James Metts says Saturday night, four men ordered pizza to a house on Avery Place Drive with the intent of robbing whomever delivered it. None of the four lived there and officials say the homeowner did not realize his home was being used for a robbery.
Pizza Hut delivery man Christopher Miller, 43, says he showed up at the home at 10:30 p.m. and 17-year-old Paul Sturgill was standing on the sidewalk waiting for him.
Officials say soon after Miller got out of the car, two other men ran at him from the woods. When Miller started running away, that’s when authorities say Sturgill continually tried beating him in the face.
Miller, who has a concealed weapons permit, says he pulled out .45 caliber handgun that he had in his fanny pack and shot Sturgill in his chest. Sturgill was taken to the hospital where he later died.
The three other suspects ran.
Lexington County officials arrested Beckham at the home of the alleged robber who died early Sunday morning. Dates was arrested around the same time.
The final suspect, Justin Roundtree, turned himself over to authorities around 9:15 Sunday night.
Avery Place Drive looks like the perfect place to get outside and enjoy the sun. But Saturday night, one resident encountered a much darker scene. “There was a man holding a gun, the Pizza Hut delivery guy holding a gun. He was talking to the police officer or the operator and there was also another guy, a young teenager laying on the ground with blood everywhere,” he says.
Not knowing who was the suspect and who was the shooter, this resident’s aunt called 911 and heard the details from the operator, who had the delivery driver on the other line. “They had asked him if he had change for a hundred and he said no, and then one guy just started punching him,” she says.
Deputies say that’s when Miller began backing up. But, when more people came out of the woods, his gun made an appearance too. “It appears to me he acted in self-defense, but I can’t make that decision until the investigation is complete,” says Metts.
Deputies are looking into whether the robbery was gang-related, but residents here say it wouldn’t surprise them if it was. They say there’s been a dramatic increase in crime here over the past year. “It’s really scary, because we used to never have no problems. All this recently, it’s just been one thing after another,” one resident says.
They’re hoping this latest crime will be the last, to make sure the youngest member of the family won’t have to feel their fear in his own home. “I have a little cousin in there and I don’t want him to be around that,” says the male resident.
An autopsy will be performed Monday on Sturgill.
Miller has not been charged in connection to the shooting, but the incident remains under investigation.
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