Three men sentenced for role in 2013 home invasion

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Three men arrested in 2013 for their role in a home invasion in which a 24-year-old man was killed were sentenced this week in Clarendon County general sessions court. Tony Wright, 18; Leron Dingle, 20; and Raheem Nivens, 22, were each sentenced before Circuit Court Judge Deandrea Benjamin after entering separate guilty pleas on Wednesday and Thursday, according to court records. Wright was given 20 years for two counts of armed robbery and voluntary manslaughter; and both Dingle and Nivens were given 30 years for murder, armed robbery, first-degree burglary, two counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. According to reports from the Clarendon County Sheriff's Office, the charges came from what deputies called a "botched robbery," in a Manning Times file story. The incident happened April 20, 2013, at a home on Kingstree Highway in Manning. Akiame Osborne Cousar, 24, was declared dead at the scene from two gunshot wounds. Third Circuit Assistant Solicitor Chris DuRant said Nivens' blood was found at the scene due to a gunshot wound he sustained at the scene. Dingle's fingerprint was found on a car outside the home. DuRant said Wright admitted to being at the home, but that he claimed he'd never been inside it.