Two Orangeburg men have been charged with attempted murder after authorities say a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper was shot at during a traffic stop early Saturday morning.
Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell said 37-year-old Labaron Durell Washington and 36-year-old Brandon Latron Green, both of Orangeburg, were arrested following the incident.
“Fortunately, the trooper was not hit during this incident,” Ravenell said in a statement. “He was conducting a lawful traffic stop when this occurred.”
According to the sheriff, the incident happened around 3 a.m. on Feb. 28 after a Highway Patrol trooper observed a Ford Explorer commit a traffic violation on Bamberg Road, a few miles south of Orangeburg.
Authorities said a pursuit began when a passenger in the vehicle fired at the trooper. The trooper did not return fire. The chase ended on John C. Calhoun Drive in Orangeburg, where both occupants were taken into custody.
Arrest warrants state that Washington is charged with assault and attempted murder in connection with the shooting. The warrant alleges that when the trooper attempted to initiate a traffic stop and activated emergency lights, Washington fired a round at the trooper from the passenger side window before the vehicle drove away. The incident occurred in Orangeburg County, according to the affidavit.
Green also is charged with assault and attempted murder. His warrant alleges that he fired a shot at the trooper from the passenger-side window before a felony traffic stop was conducted. The affidavit further states that Green admitted to an investigator that he fired the weapon.
Washington faces an additional charge of possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to the sheriff’s office.
Both men were denied bond Monday on the attempted murder charges.
The South Carolina Highway Patrol is continuing to investigate the incident.
