Fight over a truck left one man dead and another in prison, SC prosecutor says

An argument at a South Carolina business left one man dead and now another is going to prison, according to the 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

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On Aug. 13, a Richland County jury convicted 66-year-old Michael Andre Harper of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.

Judge Heath Taylor sentenced Harper to life in a South Carolina Department of Corrections prison on the murder charge, according to the release. Harper also will serve a concurrent 5-year sentence on the weapons charge following the 2024 death of 47-year-old Henry Durugbor, the solicitor’s office said.

Harper is currently being held at Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center in Columbia, prison records show.

On July 30, 2024, Harper went to Jimmy’s Auto Repair in the 1700 block of Percival Road to confront the owner, Durugbor, according to the release. Harper claimed that Durugbor sold him a defective truck, the solicitor’s office said.

Surveillance footage showed Harper damaging another vehicle on Durugbor’s property, near Exit 15 on I-77, before the two engaged in a brief argument, according to the release.

Harper then pulled out a gun and shot Durugbor once in the upper body, the solicitor’s office said. Then, while standing over Durugbor, Harper shot him three more times, according to the release.

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Harper then left the business in a vehicle, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

The shooting happened at about 5:30 p.m., but Durugbor’s body wasn’t discovered until the following day, the sheriff’s department said.

Harper was found later that day and ultimately confessed to shooting and killing Durugbor, the solicitor’s office said.

The sheriff’s department led the investigation, while Assistant Solicitors Joseph Kreush and Gabrielle Sharp prosecuted the case for the solicitor’s office. Attorney Derrick Mobley was listed as Harper’s lawyer, Richland County court records show.