LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. — Brandon Reese, 22, was found dead in the passenger side floorboard of his Ford F-150 on Jan. 12. The truck was parked near a gate in the woods off John Everall Road.
There was no gun around, so sheriff's deputies began investigating the death as a homicide.
Jean Boatright remembers driving by that day and thought it was suspicious seeing the pickup truck there.
"We saw this truck sitting there, and it was odd looking because the gate going in the little road was locked," she said. "I’m glad I didn't stop. It would not have been good to see that."
Sheriff's spokesman Doug Barfield said Friday that deputies used phone records and other means to track down five people who knew details of what had happened.
They all said in interviews that Reese had shot himself playing Russian roulette.
Those witnesses told investigators Reese was buying a .38-caliber revolver from someone at a trailer park the night before. The gun owner told him he could have it if he played Russian roulette.
“Our sympathies are extended to Mr. Reese’s family and friends,” said Sheriff Barry Faile. “I am sure the long days and nights of uncertainty about what happened to Mr. Reese were difficult for them. I am thankful that we were able to pull together witness interviews, documents, and forensic evidence to be able to tell them how these events occurred.”
According to eyewitnesses, Reese pointed the gun at the floor of his truck and pulled the trigger, and nothing happened. He then pointed it at his head, and it fired, killing him.
Barfield said witnesses all told the same story, and all passed lie detector tests.
"Everybody concurred that we were being given a truthful story, regardless of how bizarre it sounded," Barfield said.
That night, a man named Lakendrick Wade drove Reese to Springs Memorial Hospital. His vehicle was captured on surveillance video from the hospital. However, deputies said he panicked and left instead, taking Reese out to John Everall Road, where he left his body there in his truck.
So far there are no charges in the case, but that could change because it's still under investigation.
"We still have a gun involved, and we have a dead body that was left in the woods in a truck," Barfield said.
Eyewitness News tried to speak with members of Reese's family on Friday. They did not want to talk about the new details in the case.
While police questioned Wade about Reese’s death, they gathered information that tied him to another shooting in Kershaw.
In that case, police said Wade shot Majeed Philips at his home on Marion Street on Jan. 3.
Phillips was shot in the neck and survived. Police have charged Wade with attempted murder in that shooting.
Investigators learned that Wade and another person went to Phillips’ home to rob him. Phillips was in the home with his girlfriend, his mother, and three children under the age of six.
Phillips heard a knock at his door and opened it slightly. Two men were on his porch so he told police he quickly shut the door and that is when a shot was fired through the door and struck Phillips in the neck.
“The hard work and instincts of our investigators led to the arrest of Wade for this violent crime,” Faile said. “While working on a different case they were able to piece together information that led to Wade as a suspect in this case and ultimately to his arrest.”
It was not clear if deputies or the district attorney plan to charge anyone in connection to Reese’s case.
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