Augustan gets maximum sentence for shooting S.C. trooper in the face
BAMBERG, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - An Augusta man was convicted this week in the 2023 shooting of a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper in Bamberg County.
Derrick Gathers was convicted Wednesday of attempted murder, possession of a firearm during the commission of a violent crime and failure to stop for a blue light.
He was sentenced to maximum, consecutive sentences totaling 38 years. That includes 30 years for the attempted murder charge, five for the gun charge and three for the remaining charge.
The shooting around 3:30 a.m. April 16, 2023, wounded Lance l. B.A. Frazier on the right side of his face after he pulled over a vehicle on U.S. 78 in Bamberg County for a speeding violation.
The trooper and a deputy returned fire, striking the vehicle as Gathers drove away, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.
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A second trooper, a second deputy and an officer with the Bamberg Police Department chased the vehicle through Bamberg County and into Branchville in Orangeburg County, where Gathers wrecked it, reportedly crashing it into a house.
Frazier has recovered from his injuries.
A federal grand jury in Columbia also recently returned a single-count indictment against Gathers for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
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He has a previous felony conviction that bans him from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
However, the indictment alleges he had a firearm and ammunition when he shot a trooper
Gathers faces a maximum penalty of 15 years on the federal charge.
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