Burke County deputies make arrest in connection to multiple homicides in South Carolina

Alexandra Koch, Augusta Chronicle
·2 min read
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Five people are dead after a Sunday evening shooting in Inman on Bobo Drive. Four were found dead and one died at the hospital while undergoing surgery. Police are on site working the crime scene the morning of Oct. 10, 2022.
Five people are dead after a Sunday evening shooting in Inman on Bobo Drive. Four were found dead and one died at the hospital while undergoing surgery. Police are on site working the crime scene the morning of Oct. 10, 2022.

The Burke County Sheriff's Office has arrested a man accused of multiple homicides in South Carolina.

James Douglas Drayton, 24, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, is charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, multiple weapons charges, driving under the influence, fleeing a police officer, reckless driving and failure to maintain lane in Burke County, according to jail records. After his arrest, Drayton confessed to five murders in Spartanburg.

Burke County deputies on Tuesday arrested Drayton after he allegedly committed an armed robbery at Taylor Brothers Express on Hwy 25 North.

In a Facebook post, the Burke County Sheriff's Office said Drayton "entered the store, sought the clerk at gunpoint, and took her from the kitchen to the cash register while demanding money."

Drayton fled with the money and after a brief car chase on Highway 25, he crashed and fled on foot, according to the post. He was later apprehended while jumping a fence.

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As deputies investigated the armed robbery they learned Drayton is suspected of killing five people at a home in Inman, South Carolina, on Oct. 9, according to a news release from the Burke County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators from the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office this week visited Burke County and interviewed Drayton. Authorities said they received a full confession to the murders in Inman.

Spartanburg homicides

Around 7:45 p.m. Sunday Oct. 9, Spartanburg County deputies responded to 280 Bobo Dr., Inman, for reports of a death.

Deputies found four white males dead and James Baldwin, whose race has not been disclosed, injured. He was brought to the Spartanburg Medical Center where he later passed away.

Victims included Thomas Ellis Anderson, 37; Adam Daniel Morley, 32; Mark Allen Hewitt, 59; Roman Christean Megael Rocha, 19; and, James Derek Baldwin, 49.

Spartanburg investigators secured arrest warrants for four of the victims, charged Drayton with four counts of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, and plan to seek additional warrants for Baldwin's homicide, according to a news release.

Drayton remained in the Burke County Detention Center on Tuesday. It is unclear when he will be extradited, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Georgia deputies arrest man accused of South Carolina homicides