ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — One person is in custody in South Carolina and two others are being questioned in New York in connection with the deadly drive-by shooting of 6-year-old Winston Hunter -- a case that has now become a multi-state operation with one person still on the run.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell confirmed the arrest of 19-year-old Ethan Anderson of West Columbia after investigators developed a vehicle make and model associated with a drive-by shooting in the town of Woodford that killed Winston Hunter.
The sheriff said that the case led back to Anderson in the Midlands after investigators in Ontario County, New York came across his vehicle there. In it were two people - a currently unnamed suspect and a juvenile - who are awaiting extradition back to South Carolina.
The announcement comes just weeks after the violent night that claimed young Hunter's life. Ravenell provided a brief glimpse at what investigators say may have been the motive for the deadly act.
"Because some individuals got together in West Columbia, South Carolina and decided to ride to Woodford and North to make either a buy or a robbery of something that [SLED] Chief Keel and I have been fighting against for the longest," he said. "Marijuana. It all leads back to marijuana."
But the sheriff also pointed out that Hunter died because they targeted the wrong home.
"There was no marijuana there, they were not looking for anybody there," he said.
Anderson, who now faces charges of murder, three counts of attempted murder, and four counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, was given no bond.
Now, the sheriff is asking the public to once again keep an eye out for yet another suspect who they stress could be anywhere. The search is underway for 20-year-old Michael Lloyd, described as 5 feet 2 inches and 180 pounds.
“We are not going to rest until we put this coward in jail," the sheriff said.