GA man charged in murder of South Carolina security guard and patron
GREENVILLE, S.C. July 11 2020– A Georgia man was arrested and accused of fatally shooting two people in a South Carolina club during the July 4th weekend, authorities said.
Jarquez Kezavion Cooper, of Athens, Georgia, was charged Tuesday with two counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, news outlets reported. Cooper was being held a Georgia jail.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis said Cooper was involved in the shooting at Lavish Lounge in Greenville on Sunday.
At least eight others were wounded in the shooting, which killed 23-year-old Mykala Bell of Greenville and a 51-year-old security guard at the club, Clarence Sterling Johnson of Duncan.
Lewis said a “very large crowd” of about 200 people were at the nightclub to see trap rapper Foogiano. The event went against South Carolina gathering orders due to the pandemic.
Lewis said there were at least two shooters. Three other men in the Atlanta area with ties to Foogiano, whose real name is Kwame Brown, were being sought for questioning.
Lewis said authorities don’t believe Foogiano was involved with the shooting but he hasn’t been interviewed by investigators directly.
Bell’s family described the 23-year-old single mother of two small children as a caring person who looked after her younger family members.
Johnson worked as a security guard at the club. Friends affectionately referred to Johnson as “CJ” and “Big Sterling,” an affable man always happy to help out when he could.
