Florence deputy ID'd, cleared in two fatal shootings

FLORENCE — The Florence County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed the deputy who shot and killed a suspect in Lake City on May 9 is the same deputy who shot and killed a man in the Seekers nightclub parking lot less than three weeks later, and that he has been cleared in both shootings.

Deputy Dane Keefe was still under investigation by the State Law Enforcement Division for the shooting of Adrian Pressley in Lake City the night he shot Deangelo Eugene James Foxworth on May 28 outside of Seekers.

On the night of May 9, deputies responding to a shooting on Lassie Street in Lake City located the shooting suspect, 30-year-old Adrian Devon Pressley of Nesmith, on Airport Circle and were fired on by him, Florence County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Nunn said in a previous report.

Deputies returned fire, and Pressley was pronounced dead at the Airport Circle scene, Nunn said.

Sheriff’s investigators said Pressley had just shot two people on Lassie Street and left them for dead when he was killed. 

Pressley’s family members interviewed at the scene identified the victims in the first shooting as Pressley’s ex-girlfriend and a man who was in her home at the time. They said Pressley and the woman had recently ended their relationship.

The victims of the Lassie Street shootings received treatment at an area hospital, and one of the victims in the shooting positively identified Pressley as the suspect, investigators said.

The man Pressley shot — identified as 32-year-old Quincy Lamont Brown of 505 Lassie St. in a Lake City Police Department incident report released Tuesday as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request —  died days later, Boone said in his statement.

Keefe was placed on administrative leave after the Lake City shooting and required to undergo psychological counseling per sheriff’s office policy, according to Tuesday’s statement from Sheriff Kenney Boone.

After the first shooting, Keefe immediately asked to speak to his lawyer, according to SLED documents.

“When this deputy was cleared by the psychologist as fit to return to duty, and at his request, the deputy was put back to work” before the second shooting, according to Boone’s statement.

Deputies responded to Seekers on South Irby Street at 3:09 a.m. May 28 to reports of a disturbance with “multiple shots fired.” The fight escalated into a shootout in the parking lot and ended with 20-year-old Foxworth, of Marion, dead.

A security guard also was shot in the parking lot by a patron and is recovering from his injuries.

SLED’s investigation of the Lake City shooting ended June 7 and concluded that Pressley’s death constituted a lawful use of force. The S.C. Attorney General reviewed the case and cleared Keefe on June 15.

Boone said in his statement issued Tuesday that Keefe has been cleared in Foxworth’s death. SLED has not confirmed that, however.

The sheriff’s office didn’t identify the deputy involved in either shooting until Boone’s statement Tuesday, when he confirmed the same deputy was involved in both.

“Officer involved shootings are tragic for everyone involved, family members, bystanders, the public and the officer included. ... The taking of human life leaves an indelible mark on the officer, even in the best of circumstances and in the most justified situations,” Boone said in his statement.

“Law enforcement officers are trained to protect human life, which includes the public and themselves. Our deputy valiantly responded to both of these imminent threats to himself and the public in a manner consistent with his training and South Carolina law,” he said in the statement. “While we regret the loss of life in these instances, we are certainly pleased for our deputy that two independent investigations have found no wrongdoing on his part and that his actions were legally justified under the circumstances.”