Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles sentenced Jamir Covington, age 21, to life in prison on Thursday after he pled guilty to two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The State presented evidence during the hearing that Covington shot multiple times into a house in October of 2021, injuring one person. Eleven days later, before he had been identified as the person who shot into the house, Covington shot and killed his girlfriend and her friend while both women sat in a car in Riverdale.
The Dillon County Sheriff’s Department, led in these two cases by Detectives Dennis Cox and Shannon Grainger, collected shell casings from both crime scenes. SLED analyzed the shell casings and determined they all came from the same gun. When presented with this evidence after his arrest, Covington admitted his guilt.
The State negotiated a life sentence for Covington, which was imposed Thursday. Under that sentence, Covington will serve the remainder of his natural life in prison with no chance at parole. During the hearing, the State said the death penalty was not an option in this case for several reasons, primarily because of Covington’s history. The United States Constitution and relevant case law prevent the State from seeking the death penalty on a defendant with such history.
“This is yet another tragic case involving senseless gun violence,” said Assistant Solicitor Shipp Daniel. “It is also another example of the fact that we are seeking significant penalties for our most violent offenders. We will continue to pray for these families whose lives have been shattered by this violence.”
Both Daniel and Deputy Solicitor Kernard Redmond praised the Dillon County Sheriff’s Department for its quick and extensive work in this case.