Aiken Teen’s Cause of Death is Biggest Mystery in Grovetown Shooting

Tyreius Wakefield

Date: March 05, 2021

Aiken teen Tyreius Wakefield died Thursday night and driver Raekwon Watson was shot in the leg in a bizarre series of events in Grovetown.

James Chatman

James Chatman, 19, allegedly fired at Watson’s 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt around 8 p.m. Thursday while the car was outside Chatman’s home at 272 Lynbrook Way.

But the biggest mystery is this: When deputies found the victims’ car on Chamblin Road at Sawmill Trail, Wakefield had no obvious wounds to explain why he was unresponsive. The 18-year-old male was later pronounced dead at Doctors Hospital. An autopsy will be done to help determine a possible cause of death.

Watson, 24, was treated at the same hospital for his leg injury, which was clearly from the gunfire.

A third person in the car, 21-year-old Shaunta Kemp of Aiken, was found walking out of the woods near the disabled car, and a gun was found near him. No injuries were reported on him.

The Cobalt had two bullet holes in the rear bumper and one in the dash. A bullet also struck a rear passenger tire.

The surviving witnesses wouldn’t say much, according to sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris. “No one would provide any information about what happened other than they pulled over to talk to an unknown male then shots were fired,” he said.

Chatman is being held in jail on three accounts of aggravated assault and weapon possession, according to GDPS. Lt. Allison Foster.

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The Author

Greg Rickabaugh is an award-winning crime reporter in the Augusta-Aiken area with experience writing for The Augusta Chronicle and serving as publisher of The Jail Report. He also owns AugustaCrime.com. Rickabaugh is a 1994 graduate of the University of South Carolina and has appeared on several crime documentaries on the Investigation Discovery channel. He is married with two daughters.

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