Chester County suspect accused in 4 SC, Missouri murders denied bail. What to know
A Chester County man accused of four murders in South Carolina and Missouri along with other shootings in both states will remain in jail after two judges denied bail Tuesday in court.
Tyler Donnet Terry, 26, made his first appearance at the Chester County Courthouse Tuesday afternoon, a day after he was caught by law enforcement officials in rural Chester County near Interstate 77. His arrest came after a six-day manhunt.
Terry is respectively charged in South Carolina and Missouri with two counts of murder. He also is charged in South Carolina with 11 attempted murder charges, and other weapons violations and burglary crimes related to a shooting spree that ran from May 2 through May 18.
Chester County Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Garis and Chester City Judge Theodore Wilder Jr. each denied Terry bond on the 18 combined charges.
“There has been some flight in this case so bond on all charges is denied,” Garis said.
Terry made no comments in court except to tell Garis that he understood the proceedings. Garis said he wanted to make sure Terry understood the charges against him.
Chester county and city charges
Terry is charged in Chester County with the murder of Eugene Simpson, husband of Terry’s co-defendant, Adrienne Simpson. Eugene Simpson was found May 19 fatally shot in a field. Adrienne Simpson, 34, of Myrtle Beach, also is charged with murder in her husband’s death.
Simpson, jailed since a chase with sheriff’s deputies on May 18, did not appear in court Tuesday. She has had her initial appearances in court, officials aid. Her lawyer, Geoff Dunn, was in court Tuesday but did not speak and declined comment afterward.
Terry faces attempted murder charges in Chester County related to shots fired at deputies in the police chase, which also involved Simpson. There also are charges against Terry related to May 2 shootings at a Taco Bell and a home on Ehrlich Street.
One of the May 2 victims at Ehrlich Street, Jeremy Robinson, said in court Tuesday to the judge that he forgave Terry. Robinson was shot but survived, prosecutors said.
“I forgive him for what he did to me, and may God have mercy on his soul,” Robinson said.
Terry also faces charges of burglary from the Ehrlich Street shooting and several charges of weapons violations from all three shootings in the county and city, according to arrest warrants obtained by The Herald.
Manhunt gets national attention
The manhunt for Terry went from a regional incident in both Carolinas to gain national attention after his alleged involvement in Missouri murders came to light.
More than 300 police officers from Chester and York counties, South Carolina state police, and federal agents were involved in the manhunt. Federal agents from the ATF captured Terry Monday around 10 a.m. in a rural Chester County field near Interstate 77. He was scratched and thirsty and his clothes were torn but was otherwise unhurt, Chester County Sheriff Max Dorsey said.
Dorsey, who Tuesday’s court hearing, said Terry should not get a bond.
“My opinion, he should never see the light of day,” Dorsey said in an impromptu news conference after court.
Dorsey said police want justice for the victims and the community who were terrorized. Police found a gun near Terry when he was caught and two guns in the chase vehicle from May 18.
“This is why the police do this. We protect the people who can’t protect themselves,” Dorsey said.
Sixth Circuit Solicitor Randy Newman said after court in a news conference the Chester County cases will be handled first, but no timetable is set for trial.
Chase, manhunt, other crimes
Chester deputies tried to stop the car Simpson was driving, with Terry as the passenger, after it was seen outside a Bojangles’ near I-77.
Terry allegedly shot at three Chester deputies during the chase. Deputies returned fire. No one was hurt in the exchange. The car crashed and Terry escaped on foot.
Terry also is charged with two Chester city shootings and killing a man named Thomas Hardin in the city of York, court records show.
Terry has not yet appeared in York County court on the York murder charge. Simpson is charged as an accessory in that killing.
Missouri charges
Terry and Simpson face two counts of murder and other charges from three shootings in Missouri on May 15, police and prosecutors in St. Louis County, Mo., said late Monday.
Seventy-one-year-old Barbara Goodkin and 58-year-old Dr. Sergei Zacharev were fatally shot in unrelated incidents about an hour apart, said Wesley Bell, prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County. Zacharev was robbed, Bell said in a news conference Monday night.
Goodkin’s husband was shot at, but a cellphone in his shirt pocket deflected a bullet and saved his life, Bell said.
In an incident minutes before the shooting of the Goodkins, Terry and Simpson are charged with a road rage shooting on I-170 in St. Louis County where a car was shot multiple times, Bell said. That driver was not hurt, Bell said.
In Missouri, Terry and Simpson each are charged with two counts of murder and 13 other charges, according to prosecutors and court records.
Terry’s criminal record
Terry was convicted in April in Myrtle Beach municipal court on a charge of domestic violence against Simpson and given a time-served sentence, South Carolina court records show.
He was free on $20,000 bail at that time from a June 2020 arrest and charge in Chester County related to domestic violence against Simpson, according to police and court records. That case remains pending.
Terry also is on probation in North Carolina from previous convictions, officials said.
