From staff reports
On Wednesday, Dec. 20, agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) 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.
On Sunday, Dec. 17, SLED was requested 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, Smith-Hagood became involved in a physical altercation between two rival groups of people in the parking lot in front of the Okatie Dance Studio. During the fight, Smith-Hagood 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 witnesses indicated the person on video firing toward the victims was Smith-Hagood.
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.
Smith-Hagood is confined at the Jasper County Detention Center. The case will be prosecuted by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.
