Yemassee teen charged for 2 murders in Beaufort, Jasper County. Is a blood feud to blame?
Police from Beaufort and Jasper Counties are charging 19-year-old Yemassee resident Lavent Altobby Frazier with two counts of murder stemming from two deadly shootings this year: a quiet Easter Sunday killing outside a Beaufort apartment complex and a recent barrage of bullets inside a Ridgeland nightclub.
Frazier was arrested around 1:00 a.m. Tuesday on Fuller Pkwy, located off Ribaut Road near Beaufort’s downtown waterfront, said city police spokesperson Dep. Chief Stephenie Price. The early morning arrest was a joint effort from several local agencies, including the Fugitive Task Force from the SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Following his bond hearing at the Beaufort County jail, Frazier will be transferred to the Jasper County Detention Center, where he will be formally charged with another count of murder and three firearm violations.
Despite the murders’ shared suspect, officials from both counties aren’t sure if the two cases are connected. Beaufort police have not yet specified a motive for the April 9 murder, although Jasper County investigators say Sunday morning’s incident was fueled by a years-old feud between Frazier and the victim, dating back to high school.
2 counties, 2 murders, 1 suspect
On April 9, Beaufort police found 21-year-old Ridgeland man Daveion Reed outside his apartment at the Cross Creek Apartment Homes with a single gunshot wound. He died later that night.
Nearly four months later — and about 20 miles west — over a dozen shots rang out inside Tap Ultra Lounge, a popular nightlife destination in Jasper County. Ridgeland’s Albert “Butta” G. Heyward, 29, was struck by multiple bullets and died later Sunday morning.
Details from both investigations allowed police to name Frazier as the suspect. Investigators believe the 19-year-old pulled the trigger in both deadly shootings.
A date for Frazier’s bond hearing at the Beaufort County Detention Center was not immediately available. Because his murder charge carries the possibility of a life sentence, his bond can only be set by a circuit court judge. Beaufort County is scheduled to resume General Sessions proceedings the week of Aug. 14, according to the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
Although investigators believe Frazier was seen leaving the Cross Creek Apartments in a dark-colored sedan with two other passengers just after the April shooting, no other arrests are expected for potential accomplices, Price told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette on Wednesday.
In the days following Sunday’s nightclub shooting, Jasper County deputies arrested two 22-year-olds from Yemassee — Herbert Dashawn Ford and Kevin Jamol Young — charging both as accessories to the murder. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Chief Jeff Crosby said both men accompanied Frazier inside Tap Ultra Lounge and also had a history of animosity with the victim. Ford was in a fistfight with Heyward inside the bar just before shots were fired.
Anyone with additional information about either murder case is encouraged to contact the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 843-726-7779, Sgt. Stephanie Fritz of the Beaufort Police Department at 843-322-7913 or the anonymous Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry tip line at 843-554-1111.
