Lexington man dies near airport

Coroner Margaret Fisher has identified the Lexington man who died in a single-vehicle accident on the Columbia Airport Expressway in West Columbia Nov. 24.

Alexander R. Jeffcoat, 23, of Lexington was pronounced dead at the scene due to his injuries.

Jeffcoat’s vehicle left the right side of the road and overturned.

Jeffcoat was not wearing a seat belt when the incident occurred.

A passenger in the vehicle, who was wearing a seat belt, was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.

The accident remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol.

25 years for Lexington County murder

Kevin Lawrence Pearson, 27, pled guilty last week to voluntary manslaughter for the Feb. 8, 2017 shooting death of Rodney Isaac, Jr.

Pearson received a 25 year sentence by the Honorable Frank R. Addy, Jr.

This conviction is classified under South Carolina Law as a “no parole” offense.

On Feb. 8, 2017, Lexington County dispatch received a call reporting multiple gun shots and that the shooter left driving a Honda accord with a dog in the vehicle.

When law enforcement and first responders arrived on scene, they located the victim, Rodney Isaac, Jr., with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. The autopsy later confirmed that Rodney died from a fatal gunshot wound to his head.

Pearson will be transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin the immediate service of his sentence.

West Columbia man arrested in assault

Lexington County deputies have arrested a man in connection with an assault earlier this month in a grocery store parking lot.

Christian Luis Monje, 36, is charged with 2nd degree assault and battery, according to an arrest warrant.

“Based on our review of surveillance video and witness statements, Monje targeted a woman and followed her to her vehicle as she left a store during the afternoon of Nov. 8,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “Monje touches her without consent and then runs away.”

A community tip helped detectives identify Monje after the Sheriff’s Department posted a segment of the surveillance video to social media, according to Koon.

Monje was arrested Nov. 26 at his West Columbia home. He’s being held in the Lexington County Detention Center.

Lexington County burglaries

2 suspects are believed to have used a blunt object to smash into a liquor store near the Food Lion on Main Street, Paul Kirby reported in the Lexington Ledger.

They dashed in, grabbed merchandise and sped away.

The men may have been involved in a string of robberies of package stores across Lexington County the same morning.

One of the suspects Tyrese Dashawn Johnson escaped custody after his arrest on multiple burglary charges Nov. 28 on Sandpit Rd. in Leesville.