A fugitive wanted for a triple murder is back in Aiken County after being captured last year in Oklahoma.
Alvin Artis, 21, spent five months on the run after allegedly participating in the June 26 shooting deaths of 17-year- old Willie L. Garrett IV and 16-year-old victims Cameron Carroll and Ivan Perry. The trio were shot on Wadley Drive in Aiken.
Artis was captured on Nov. 30 when the United States Marshals Fugitive Task Force received a tip that Artis was in Lawton, Oklahoma. Marshals and Lawton police began surveillance on a suspected residence and took Artis into custody as he came outside to get in an Uber.
Detectives requested a search warrant for the home he was in and say they discovered evidence connected to the Aiken homicides.
Another suspect, 18-year-old Xavian Bailey, was captured last summer at a hideout on Lloyd Town Road in Aiken County. A 15-year-old boy was also arrested at the time for his involvement.
After his capture, Artis was taken to the Comanche County Detention Center in Oklahoma, where he has been held until he was extradited to South Carolina on Friday.
Before the killings, Artis had evaded law enforcement for months since failing to appear in court for a Jan. 23 arrest for possessing a stolen gun. The 20-year-old suspect made bond three days after his arrest but failed to show in court, according to court records.
On June 26, authorities say Artis was with the trio riding in a black Hyundai when they gunned down the victims outside a single-wide trailer at 226 Wadley Drive in Aiken.
“Witnesses told investigators that before hearing the shots, the victims were in an argument” with the three suspects, an ACSO press release said.
Garrett and Perry died on the scene and Carroll was pronounced dead after being rushed to Augusta University Medical Center. A friend said they all attended Aiken High School.
Willie and Cameron are first cousins, the friend said. They did not live on Wadley Drive.
Authorities gave no motive but linked it to gang activity that has increased in the county.
