2 suspects charged in Timmonsville man's death

Jeremy Durant, left, and Randy Baker, right

By: From staff reports | SCNow
Published: May 22, 2009

Two Timmonsville men have been arrested in connection with the death of a man who appeared to have been struck by a vehicle Thursday night.

Randy Antonio Baker, 17, of 462 Vanda Drive and Jeremy Terrell Durant, 18, of 711 E. Smith St. Apt. B were arrested about 7 p.m. Friday and are each charged with murder, Florence County Detention Center booking reports show.

Rush Vance Bass, 47, of 694 Lamar Highway, Timmonsville was pronounced dead just before 10:30 p.m. Thursday at a local hospital of injuries suffered in the collision, Florence County Coroner M.B. “Bubba” Matthews said in a press release.

It happened at the intersection of Orange and Byrd streets in Timmonsville, Matthews said. It initially appeared Bass was leaving a bar and grill in Timmonsville about 10 p.m. when he was struck by a vehicle about two blocks away.

Further investigation indicated Bass died of blunt force trauma by an unknown object, according to a press release from Florence County Sheriff Kenney Boone. An autopsy Friday at the Medical University of South Carolina is expected to determine the exact cause of death.

Both suspects remain in custody at the jail in Effingham awaiting a bond hearing before a circuit court judge.