Sumter man sentenced for 2017 shooting, will serve 5 years for involuntary manslaughter

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A Sumter man charged in 2017 in the shooting death of another Sumter man will serve up to five years in prison. A jury found Thomas David Secor Jr. of 4940 Briar Branch Road of Sumter guilty of involuntary manslaughter Dec. 18, with 3rd Circuit Judge George McFaddin then providing his sentence. The jury found Secor not guilty of a separate charge of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. The information just became available on the Clarendon County Public Court Index. Secor was initially charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime Jan. 6, 2017, after turning himself into authorities at the Sumter County Sheriff's Office. Witnesses had told deputies there that Secor shot Thoams Cockerill, 42, Jan. 5 following an argument in the area around Secor's home. Secor later fled the scene, but turned himself in the next day, accompanied by his attorney, Shaun Kent. According to court records, Secor was also represented by attorney Marvin E. McMillan Jr.