Shooting victim’s body found in Lexington and arrest was made, but not for murder

An arrest has been made after a 25-year-old was killed and his body was dumped over the weekend, Lexington County officials said.

On Sunday, Summit resident Nicholas Kenneth Hendrix was shot in the upper body, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher said.

Hendrix’s body was discovered in the 1500 block of Old Barnwell Road, and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Fisher. That’s in Lexington, in the area south of Interstate 20, between White Knoll High School and White Knoll Elementary School.

No other injuries were reported.

Later Sunday, in a neighboring county, a person of interest in Hendrix’s death was taken into custody, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department said.

Jesse Lee Gregory, 34, was arrested in Aiken County on several unrelated charges, according to the sheriff’s department. He was also charged with desecration of human remains, the sheriff’s department said.

Gregory discarded Hendrix’s body on Old Barnwell Road on Sunday morning, according to the sheriff’s department.

Sheriff’s department spokesman Capt. Adam Myrick told The State that Gregory is considered a person of interest in the homicide.

While he was denied bond and remains behind bars in the Lexington County Detention Center, he has not been charged with murder.

Information about whether another person may be the shooter was not available. There was no word on a motive for the shooting, where it occurred, or if Gregory and Hendrix previously knew each other.

No other arrests have been reported in the death that continues to be investigated by the sheriff’s department and coroner’s office.

In addition to the count of desecration of human remains, Gregory was also charged with driving under suspension, failure to stop for blue lights, resisting arrest and a drug charge, jail records show.

In February 2023, Gregory pleaded guilty to a third-degree domestic violence charge, one of several times he’s been arrested in Lexington County over the past 15 years, court records show.