Family of man shot by U.S. Marshals in Aiken County seeks answers

Apr. 29—The family of a man who was shot and killed by police in Aiken County on April 7 gathered outside the Aiken County Courthouse on Thursday afternoon, pleading for answers after almost a month of silence from law enforcement.

Robert L. Wright, 34, of Augusta, was killed during an encounter with an ATF agent and an officer assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service task force after they attempted to execute an arrest warrant, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).

Wright leaves behind his girlfriend and young twin daughters.

The press conference was led by civil rights attorney Reginald Greene, who is representing the Wright family.

"We still don't have answers," Greene said. "One of the biggest questions is why was Robert's life taken under these circumstances?"

The shooting

On the morning of April 7, deputies with the U.S. Marshals Service were attempting to execute an arrest warrant on Wright at the America's Best Value Inn on Whiskey Road when he fled the scene, according to a release from the Aiken County Coroner's Office.

A police chase ensued and came to a halt when the suspect was shot by officers near the intersection of Charleston Highway and East Pine Log Road at 11:17 a.m.

"Mr. Wright fled from officers leading them on a high-speed chase that ended with the vehicles crashing into one another on Charleston Highway," according to the release. "Multiple shots were fired by the deputy marshals striking Mr. Wright several times."

Wright was pronounced dead on the scene.

A lack of information

Greene said he put in official requests to all the law enforcement agencies involved in the case, but still has not gotten any answers.

As of now, Greene said the only thing he knows is that there was a chase that ended in a shooting.

"From where we could see, the bullet holes were going in the front of the car, the back of the car and the sides of the car," he said. "More than 38 bullets were found [in Wright's body] to our understanding."

"They didn't say why they shot him," he continued. "They didn't say what he did to be shot and he didn't deserve to die like that — no matter what he did. Law enforcement officers cannot be the judge, the jury and the executioners in the streets, that's not how it works."

The U.S. Marshals Service has not released a statement or any information in relation to the incident. SLED sent out an a press release the day after the incident, but has not released the names of the deputies involved, mentioned if Wright was armed or provided any additional details.

Greene said he has requested bodycam and dashcam footage from police, but they said there is none. He also said there was footage at the hotel and businesses near the shooting, but law enforcement confiscated it on the day of the incident.

"That sounds like a cover up," he said. "If they were justified in what they did, they should be able to say what they did and why — but they have not done so."

Prior to the April 7 incident, Wright's girlfriend, Victoria Hollins, said an ATF agent entered her home on March 21 without a search warrant.

"They pushed my child," Hollins said. "The man was like, 'Don't have your kids around him because they are going to get hurt' — and he said that three times. He knew he was going to kill him."

Tiffany Cail, Wright's cousin, said the family deserves answers.

"In 2022, for you to not have dashcams or bodycams — these are regulated things these officers are supposed to have," Cail said. "Any family in this circumstance deserves answers. I'm standing next to his father, who has lost his son — he deserves answers. His kids deserve answers."

The next step is filing a lawsuit against all of the parties involved, using the power of the court to access documents and video footage, according to Greene.

"We're gonna continue to fight this case until we get answers that we need," he said. "We want to spread the word and make sure everybody knows that this case is not going away."