Authorities in Lancaster, South Carolina, have charged six illegal immigrants between the ages of 13 and 21 in connection with the "random" May 2 murder of a mother who was driving to meet friends in Rock Hill.
Lancaster County Sheriff's Office deputies located Larisha Sharrell Thompson, 40, deceased with a gunshot wound behind the wheel of her vehicle on Riverside Road in Lancaster, which is located about an hour south of Charlotte, North Carolina.
On May 12, authorities announced the arrests of three adults, including Asael Aminadas Torres-Chirinos, 21; Jarby Ardon Ramos-Odari, 18; Jeyson Sobied Pineda-Salgado, 17; and three juveniles, ages 13, 14 and 15, in connection with Thompson's death and a separate burglary that occurred on April 30.
"This shooting defies any sense of decency in a civilized society," Lancaster Sheriff Barry Faile said in a Monday statement. "Ms. Thompson was going about her business on a Friday night, not bothering anyone. All of a sudden, these six men and boys - out to get something for nothing from someone they did not know and had no business bothering - pulled alongside her car, and Torres-Chirinos opened fire, killing Ms. Thompson. There's no place in our society for acts like this or the people who commit them, and my hope is these six are never again among us."
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The Department of Homeland Security has placed detainers on all six individuals charged, Faile said during a press conference, adding that the community is a "much safer place today because these six individuals are off the streets."
Faile alleged that the suspects pulled up alongside Thompson, fatally shot her in what authorities described as a "random robbery attempt." Authorities believe all six suspects were in the same vehicle with Torres-Chirinos, who was driving and allegedly fired the fatal shot at Thompson. They are accused of attempting to enter her vehicle and then fleeing the scene upon realizing that it was locked.
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On April 30, deputies were dispatched to the Van Wyck Mart at 644 Rock Hill Highway before 8 a.m. to investigate a burglary. The store owner told deputies that surveillance video footage showed several young men trying to get into the store around 10:30 p.m. on April 29. When they couldn't get inside, they allegedly broke open a door on the northwest corner of the building, which opened up to a bathroom that had access to the inside of the store.
The suspects are also accused of firing a handgun at a security camera and the bathroom door. Detectives collected ballistics evidence at the scene.
The location of the store the suspects allegedly broke into and the location of Thompson's murder are a seven-minute drive apart. Detectives determined that ballistic evidence recovered from the scene of the murder came from the same 9 mm handgun as those at the scene of the burglary days before.
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Through digital surveillance, investigators also identified Torres-Chirinos, the 21-year-old suspect, at the scene of both crimes. They questioned him at the sheriff's office on May 8, and by the end of that day, they had identified, located and detained the five additional suspects.
The three adult suspects are charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and second-degree burglary. Authorities believe Torres-Chirinos fired the handgun in both incidents, and he is charged with two counts of firearms possession during the commission of a crime and one count of firearms possession by an unlawful alien. A judge denied bond for all three men.
The three juvenile suspects are also charged with murder, attempted armed robbery and second-degree burglary.
All six suspects are subject to removal from the United States under federal immigration law based on their immigration status, the sheriff's office said.
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"The Department of Homeland Security has placed detainers on these six," Faile said. "That doesn't mean the federal government will scoop them up and send them out of the country before their cases are heard in court. It simply means if for any reason, any one or more of them becomes eligible for release before their charges are resolved in court, Homeland Security will take custody of them, and they will not be back out on the street. Our intention is that all six remain detained until they face the full weight of our judicial system."
Thompson's family is "grieving and trying to get their heads around how something like this could happen," Faile added.
