Augusta man takes guilty plea of voluntary manslaughter in 2020 death of Aiken man

Mar. 20—An Augusta man will spend at least 21 years in a state prison after accepting a guilty plea for voluntary manslaughter in connection tothe death of an Aiken man in the June 2020.

Christopher Curtis Foreman of Augusta pleaded guilty March 13 to voluntary manslaughter and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature in connection to the death of Bryson Washington, according to Ashley Hammack, deputy solicitor with the Second Judicial Circuit.

Hammack said a trial was scheduled , but Foreman accepted a guilty plea.

"He was originally charged with murder, but once the solicitor's office was able to review the case and the law on the case, it met the standards for a voluntary manslaughter charge and the judge agreed with that," Hammack said.

Judge Courtney Clyburn Pope sentenced Foreman to 25 years for the voluntary manslaughter charge and five years for the assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature charge, Hammack said.

She said the sentences will run concurrently and Foreman will have to serve 85% of sentence which is equal to 21 years.

Police said Washington was stabbed during a break-in at a home in the 500 block of Shiloh Heights Road .

In 2019, Foreman was also arrested and charged with domestic violence after pointing a gun to a woman's head and threatening to kill her.

Foreman, who has been in the custody of the Aiken County detention center, was taken into custody by the South Carolina Department of Corrections.