LEXINGTON, S.C. — A Lexington County man will spend the next 12 years in prison for opening fire on a deputy with a shotgun at the start of an hours-long standoff in 2020.
According to a statement from the office of 11th Judicial Circuit Solicitor S.R. Hubbard III, 71-year-old Mark Louis Cote pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature for shooting and injuring a Lexington County deputy during a domestic violence call in September of 2020.
On Sept. 5 of that year, deputies were called out to Eagleview Drive in reference to the domestic incident involving Cote and a woman he was accused of assaulting and pointing a firearm at. Cote had gotten into an argument with the woman and claimed that she had given him prescription medicine without his knowledge.
However, the woman claimed he was smoking marijuana and drinking, leading her to leave the residence. However, she said Cote later texted her threatening to burn things in the home which led to her call to 911.
But when deputies arrived and made their presence known, court records suggest Cote was belligerent and armed behind a closed garage door.
Investigators told the court that when he did leave the garage, he was toting a 20-gauge shotgun loaded with birdshot and refusing to drop the weapon. At some point, one deputy said Cote turned the shotgun in his direction leading the deputy opening fire. However, the deputy was also struck in the head by a shot that deputies suggest Cote fired.
The deputy survived his injury during that confrontation and Cote was unharmed. But the confrontation between the armed man and law enforcement didn't end there.
According to the solicitor's office statement, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was soon called in to investigate while also lending its SWAT team and negotiators to what became a 10-hour standoff.
At some point, authorities said Cote opened fire yet again as SWAT teams attempted to use gas to force him out. The solicitor's office statement suggests he fired multiple shots through the garage door and even struck another law enforcement officer - a SLED agent. That agent, however, was not injured according to the information provided. He also shot a remote robot that was sent into the location before eventually surrendering.
Solicitor Hubbard, in Thursday's statement, said that he was glad that the day's events didn't turn out far worse than they ultimately did.
“A domestic violence call is one of the most dangerous calls that our law enforcement officers receive," Hubbard said. "They have a tough, and often, scary job, but they respond every time with courage."
He added that he was "thankful that justice was served" on that day.
Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon also weighed in on the sentence and was also present in the court. He, too, described the sentence as justice.
"I’m pleased the court accepted Cote’s plea and handed down a sentence that brings some peace to the deputy and his family," he said. "The deputy acted bravely during his encounter with Cote."
He went on to not only thank SLED for their assistance but also officers from "across the Midlands" who rushed to the scene upon learning that a deputy had been shot.
While not named in Thursday's announcement, the deputy who was injured that day did address the court that day. He said that the events of Sept. 5, 2020, are moments he "will never forget."
Cote, meanwhile, appeared in court and apologized for his actions through his attorney. The solicitor's office described him as wheelchair-bound and "in deteriorating health."
Cote was taken from the courtroom immediately following the judge's decision to begin his sentence.
