Teen was charged with murder and now his mom’s arrested, SC cops say. Here’s why

About a month after a teenager was charged with murder his mother was also arrested in connection to the deadly August shooting in South Carolina, according to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.

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On Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said that 47-year-old Lynchburg resident Lawanna Joe was charged with accessory after the fact of a felony.

Joe is the mother of 19-year-old Reginald Tyrone Epps III, one of three teens charged with murdering 18-year-old Bishopville resident Ra’heem Divine Mack, according to the sheriff’s office.

On Aug. 13, Mack was killed in the shooting where two other juvenile victims were targeted but uninjured, the sheriff’s office said.

Joe learned about the shooting following the incident and took steps to conceal evidence — including the vehicle used during the shooting, the sheriff’s office said in Tuesday’s release.

The shooting

On Aug. 13, deputies responded to a reported shooting at the intersection of Davis Street and Dogwood Drive in Bishopville, the sheriff’s office said. Mack died, according to the sheriff’s office.

In addition to Epps, De’marcus Qualik Atkinson, a 17-year-old from Bishopville, and 18-year-old Camden resident Ty’shyn Cortilus Williams also were charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder, as well as single counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime and criminal conspiracy, the sheriff’s office said. Those arrests were made days after Mack died.

The investigation into Mack’s death is ongoing, and the sheriff’s office said more arrests are possible.

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Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 803-484-5353.

In the case of an emergency, always call 911.

Connection to other shootings

Mack’s death was connected to an ongoing dispute and was related to another fatal shooting on Aug. 8, according to the sheriff’s office. Shaquander Shavon Mixon, 43, died after getting shot in that incident at 224 Nash Road, the sheriff’s office said. That’s about 5 miles from where Mack was shot and killed.

Information about the dispute, who was involved and how it started was not available.

Investigators also linked both of these shooting to another incident where shots were fired on Aug. 8 that occurred on Maple Drive in Bishopville, according to the release. That’s a little less than 2 miles from where Mack was killed.

While no arrests have been made in connection to the Nash Road shooting, the sheriff’s office said that four people have been taken into custody for their roles in the Maple Drive gunfire. Those people, who also were arrested by members of the Bishopville Police Department, were not publicly identified by the sheriff’s office.