From staff reports
Agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) have now charged a third Beaufort man in connection with a shooting in the early morning hours of Dec. 17, 2023, that left twin brothers from Beaufort dead.
On Friday, Feb. 2, Tayquan G’Mel Lampkin, 28, of Beaufort was arrested and charged with two counts of Murder, one count of Attempted Murder, and two counts of Possession of a Weapon During a Violent Crime.
Previously on Friday, Jan. 26, Andrew Lee Grober II, 26, of Beaufort was arrested and charged with two counts of Murder, one count of Attempted Murder, and two counts of Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.
Before that, on Wednesday, Dec. 20, SLED agents charged Jamar Smith-Hagood, 23, of Beaufort, with two counts of Murder, one count of Attempted Murder, and one count of Possession of a Weapon During a Violent Crime in connection with the shooting.
The affidavits on the most recent arrest warrants are identical to those on the warrants for Grober and Smith-Hagood.
SLED was requested Dec. 17 by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office to investigate a double homicide that occurred at 51 Riverwalk Business Park in Ridgeland off Highway 170. During the incident two people were murdered and two people were injured.
According to arrest warrants, on December 17, Lampkin, Smith-Hagood and Grober became involved in a physical altercation between two rival groups of people in the parking lot in front of the Okatie Dance Studio, near the Sports Baba Bar. During the fight, Lampkin, Smith-Hagood and/ or Grober brandished a firearm and fired several shots in the direction of the victims.
The incident was captured on the surveillance cameras of a nearby business and, according to the warrants, witnesses indicated the person on video firing toward the victims was Lampkin, Smith-Hagood and/or Grober.
The shooting allegedly resulted in the death of twin brothers and the injury of a third person.
According to the Jasper County Coroner’s Office, Trajaan T. Fripp, of Beaufort, was pronounced dead at the scene, while Tranquan Shalek Fripp, also of Beaufort, died at a local hospital. The brothers were 24.
Lampkin, Smith-Hagood and Grober are confined at the Jasper County Detention Center. The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
SLED’s investigation is active and ongoing. Anyone with information regarding the incident should email SLED at tips@sled.sc.gov.
