Murder suspect to Darlington County

The man police believe is responsible for a shooting at a Hartsville hotel on May 31 is now in custody at the Darlington County Detention Center, according to Hartsville Police Chief Tim Kemp.

Darenzo Trevon Graham, 17, of Hartsville, was wanted in connection with the incident in which one person was shot to death and another was seriously injured.
Graham was arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s in Baltimore, Md., earlier and has now been extradited to Darlington County.

Police said the shooting happened at about 7:50 p.m. at the Land-mark Inn on South Fourth Street in Hartsville.

A group of men were playing basketball in a court behind the inn when they got into an argument, Kemp said. One of the men pulled out a gun and began shooting.

Forrest Lenn Royall Jr., 25, of Hartsville died the next day of injuries he suffered during the shooting, Darlington County Coroner Todd Hardee said in an earlier report.

The other victim, identified as 24-year-old Michael Leon Jefferson, 24, of Hartsville, was treated for injuries at a Florence hospital, Kemp said Monday.

It’s not clear whether the suspect had been involved in the basketball game, Kemp said in an earlier report. There was a crowd at the hotel and witnesses reported a disturbance, then gunfire.

Three others have been arrested in connection with the shooting.

Gregory Lamont Benjamin, 23, of Darlington, and Brittany Shantell Benjamin, 20, of Hartsville, were arrested by Hartsville police earlier.

The fourth suspect, Raynard Allen Jenkins, 28, turned himself into police days after the shooting.