Prosecutor rules York County deputies justified in 2 cases where deadly force was used
York County deputies who fired guns at suspects in unrelated incidents where one person died and another was wounded were justified in their actions and will not face criminal charges, according to South Carolina prosecutors.
In September 2022, a North Carolina man died after he was shot by a York County Sheriff’s Office deputy outside a Rock Hill drug store.
In September 2020, a Rock Hill man survived after being wounded by a York County deputy who fired when the suspect shot at two officers, according to prosecutors. The Rock Hill man has been sentenced to prison. He pleaded guilty on March 14, court records show.
Kevin Brackett, York County’s top prosecutor, stated in letters to the State Law Enforcement Division, and obtained by The Herald, that the deputies in both cases used appropriate force to protect themselves and others. In both cases, York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson asked SLED, an outside and independent state agency, to investigate.
Prosecutors decide if charges should be filed
SLED is typically requested by South Carolina law enforcement agencies to independently investigate officer involved shootings.
It is up to prosecutors in South Carolina, who get evidence that has been gathered by SLED, to determine if officers are subject to criminal charges, Brackett said. That decision commonly is made by the solicitor in a county, but sometimes can be made by the S.C. Attorney General’s Office, depending on which prosecuting agency has jurisdiction or is assigned the case.
In these cases, Brackett said his office made the decision on whether criminal charges would be pursued.
“My office will always review all the evidence to make sure the public has confidence in the decision made on use of force and whether the use of force was appropriate under the law,” Brackett told The Herald.
“There is no question the deputies were confronted with lethal force and their response was justified under the law,” Brackett said
The 2022 York County fatal shooting
In September 2022, York County senior deputy Korey Wedow fatally shot a person in a vehicle that had rammed Wedow’s patrol car after a chase, officials said. The driver rammed the vehicle into Wedow’s car as Wedow was opening the driver’s door, officials said. The person involved in the chase was fatally shot and later identified as Tyshawn Malik Benjamin, 25, of North Carolina.
Tolson had a news conference the day after the shooting where he said Benjamin was not armed with a gun but used the vehicle as a weapon.
The incident was captured on police dash cameras and body cameras, Brackett said.
“I have reviewed your investigation, and based on the video evidence have concluded that Deputy Wedow was completely justified in his use of force,” Brackett wrote to SLED. “Mr. Benjamin, by his conduct, posed a clear and immediate threat to the deputy’s life and his (the deputy’s) use of lethal force was appropriate and lawful.”
The 2020 incident, prison sentence
In the 2020 shooting, a deputy identified by Tolson as Daniel Taggart shot and wounded Darrin Montrell Cherry, according to court documents.
Cherry was accused of firing at Taggart and a S.C. constable. Cherry was in a car that had a small child in the back seat, prosecutors said. The child was not hit by gunfire, officials said.
Deputies had sought Cherry after a woman reported alleged domestic violence, according to law enforcement officials.
Cherry was hospitalized for weeks, then served arrest warrants in the case. He has been in custody ever since.
Some of the shooting incident was captured on officers’ body camera video, Brackett stated.
Brackett said he reviewed the video and other evidence and found that the deputy in 2020 had a legal right to use force to defend himself and others.
In a letter to SLED obtained by The Herald, Brackett told SLED the shooting was legally justified and proportionate to the threat.
“Mr. Cherry presented an immediate and mortal threat to the officers who went to the residence to serve a warrant for Mr. Cherry’s arrest,” Brackett stated in the letter. “Mr. Cherry, armed with two pistols, immediately fired upon deputies as they arrived necessitating their use of force to protect themselves...”
2020 York County case ends in a guilty plea
Cherry was charged by SLED with attempted murder, domestic violence, weapons violations, and child neglect.
The criminal case against Cherry was set for trial in late March. Cherry pleaded guilty March 14 under a negotiated agreement where he faced no more than 20 years in prison, according to prosecutors.
Judge Dan Hall sentenced Cherry to 15 years in the S.C. Department of Corrections, according to court records. Five years of prison time was suspended, records show. Cherry also was sentenced to five years probation after prison, records show.
Cherry is not eligible for parole under South Carolina law. He must serve 85 percent of the 15-year sentence before he is eligible for release. Cherry received 913 days of credit toward his sentence because he had been in jail awaiting trial.
