LEXINGTON, S.C. — A 32-year-old man will spend at least 74 years in prison following the home invasion and rape of a woman in her Harbison area apartment.
The 11th Judicial Circuit Solicitor's Office announced on Friday that Tamar J. Nance was found guilty on all counts against him on Jan. 27, just four days after the trial began.
Authorities said that, on June 23, 2021, the 74-year-old victim in the case was awakened during the night by a masked intruder in her bedroom at an apartment on Crossbow Drive. The intruder assaulted her and also took a bank card belonging to her before threatening the victim and demanding she not call the police.
However, she was able to get in contact with a neighbor and place a 911 call around 6 a.m. She was taken to an area hospital and evidence of the sexual assault against her was collected as Columbia Police officers collected evidence from the scene of the attack.
It was a combination of video and DNA evidence that ultimately secured Nance's arrest. Cameras had identified a white Chevrolet Malibu with unique markings that they eventually found matched the description of one he drove. Meanwhile, the State South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was able to build a DNA profile from the assault examination and it was a match for Nance - who had already been entered into the state DNA database in 2012.
Cell phone evidence further connected Nance to the crime, with data extraction by the Lexington County Sheriff's Department revealing photos that were taken of the victim's personally identifiable documents that were in the apartment.
Nance was ultimately sentenced to 30 years on the burglary charge, 25 years on the criminal sexual conduct charge, 15 years for kidnapping, and four years on the financial transaction card fraud charge. Nance will serve the sentences consecutively, is not eligible for parole, and may eventually be sentenced to even more time.
Nance also has charges pending in Richland County for burglary, assault with intent to commit criminal sexual conduct, and kidnapping, all tied to an incident in Columbia that happened just five months before the one in the Harbison area.
The solicitor's office also added that he had numerous previous run-ins with the law including a case in 2015 when he was charged with removing the screen from a window where a 63-year-old woman resided.
Nance has since been taken to a South Carolina Department of Corrections facility to begin his sentence immediately.
