SC teenager to spend decades behind bars following violent crime spree, prosecutor says
A teenager was sentenced to decades behind bars after pleading guilty to charges from two separate violent crimes, the 11th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said Monday.
On Jan. 24 in a Lexington County courtroom, 19-year-old Lexington resident Kaleb Thomas Besancon pleaded guilty to charges of armed robbery from one incident and second-degree burglary (violent) from another, the solicitor’s office said in a news release.
Besancon was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the armed robbery case, and another 10 years in prison from the burglary charge, according to the release. The sentences will be served consecutively, and under South Carolina law there is no parole for the armed robbery charge, the solicitor’s office said.
The teenager was out on bond from the first incident when he was arrested for the other crime, according to the release.
On Nov. 13, 2022, Besancon entered a Circle K on Augusta Highway in West Columbia wearing a mask and armed with a gun, the solicitor’s office said. While pointing the gun at the cashier, Besancon stole money from the cash register and vape pens then left the scene, according to the release.
Besancon was found and detained by a Lexington County Sheriff’s Department deputy, and he had the stolen money and vape pens, as well as a loaded gun in his possession, the solicitor’s office said. After he was arrested, a surety bond was set for $3,000 that Besancon was able to post on Feb. 15, 2023, Lexington County court records show.
While he was out on bond, on June 5, 2023, Besancon and two co-defendants broke into an occupied home in Lexington shortly after midnight, according to the release. Besancon, who was wearing a mask and armed with a gun, kicked down the door and left the door frame on the living room floor before he and his co-defendants left the scene in a silver Dodge Charger, the solicitor’s office said. The incident was captured on the victim’s doorbell camera.
When Lexington County deputies responded to the home the group was gone, but later, while deputies were still at the scene, a silver Dodge Charger returned to the area, according to the release. When deputies attempted to pull over the car the driver of the Charger drove away at a high rate of speed, the solicitor’s office said.
Deputies later learned there was a high-speed collision involving this vehicle, and responded to the scene of the crash, according to the release. With the help of a police dog unit, deputies were able to find Besancon and his co-defendants hiding in the woods and recovered one gun, the solicitor’s office said.
Information about the co-defendants, any charges they faced and potential punishment, was not available.
Following this arrest, Besancon’s bond was revoked during an emergency hearing, according to the release. No bond was set following the burglary charge, court records show.
These cases were investigated by the sheriff’s department and Assistant Solicitor Ashley Wellman led the prosecution, the solicitor’s office said. Lexington attorney Ola Johnson was listed as Besancon’s lawyer, according to court records.
