New charges against man accused of firing gun as cops cuffed him
GRANITEVILLE, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Charges have been upgraded against a man accused of firing a gun as deputies tried to handcuff him after a domestic disturbance this week in Aiken County.
Deputies fired on the man, but no one was injured in the incident early Wednesday at the Palisades at Langley Pond apartments on Hanoverian Run in Graniteville.
Darius Porter, 38, had previously been charged with aggravated breach of peace, but the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said Friday it had charged him with felony possession of a firearm. Jail records on Friday show he’s also now charged with assault and battery third-degree and malicious injury to a tree or house along with tresing.
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The drama in Graniteville started around 1 a.m. Wednesday, when deputies were called to the apartment complex.
A woman had called authorities to report that her ex-boyfriend, Porter, was banging on her door. She said she called again after she heard five gunshots outside.
Deputies said they later determined he’d fired the shots in the breezeway of the apartment building.
“Deputies arrived on scene and observed Darius to be in front of the listed address,” deputies wrote in an incident report. “Darius was mumbling things to himself and deputies decided to detain Darius.”
DIG DEEPER
Officer-involved shootings: By the numbers
- The shooting was the first of two in two days involving law enforcement in the CSRA. On Thursday, a deputy in Richmond County shot a suspect who pulled a gun on him in front of Glenn Hills Middle School, according to authorities.
- The Graniteville incident was the first officer-involved shooting for the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office this year. In 2024, there were 45 officer-involved shootings in South Carolina. The Aiken County Sheriff’s Office had one officer-involved shooting last year.
He failed to comply and deputies tried to put him in handcuffs.
“Darius then fired a gun in an attempt to harm deputies,” according to the incident report.
Deputies returned fire and Porter ran off, according to the report.
Porter was caught near Jefferson Davis Highway, but he didn’t have a weapon with him, according to deputies.
From there he was taken to the Aiken County Detention Center and booked.
He remained in jail Friday afternoon, according to jail records.
SLED investigated the shooting at the request of the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office, which is standard in officer-involved shootings in the state.
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