Darquarious Tremaine Fuller, a 23 year old man from Greenwood, pled guilty this week to Armed Robbery and Attempted Murder taking responsibility for his role in robbing the Ridge Spring Convenience Store in Saluda County and shooting the owner of the store. Fuller was sentenced to 23 years by Judge William P. Keesley. Both charges are violent and are considered “no parole” offenses.

Eleventh Circuit Solicitor Rick Hubbard stated, “This case is a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong when a gun is involved.” Assistant Solicitor Sutania Radlein and Senior Assistant Solicitor Al Eargle prosecuted the case for the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office.

On April 11, 2016, Fuller along with three co-defendants arrived at the Ridge Spring Convenience store and parked in the back. One of the individuals exited the vehicle and went inside of the store first. He walked around the store and his role was to let the others know how many people were inside. As that individual was exiting the store, Fuller and the other two entered wearing hoodies and face masks.

Fuller walked in pointing the gun at a female store clerk while one of the co-defendants snatched her cell phone from her hands and threw it on the floor. The store clerk was pregnant at the time of the robbery and described pleading with the gunman not to hurt her baby. They ordered the clerk to open the register and one of co-defendants began grabbing the money. The store owner came out and began to comply when Fuller shot him in the thigh. Fortunately, the store owner has recovered from any serious injury. After the owner was shot by Fuller, the three men ran out of the store.

Former Ridge Spring Police Department Chief Michael Raffield arrived quickly to the scene and assessed what was going on. After determining that the individuals left on foot, he traveled towards the rail road tracks and saw an individual running who then threw an item down. That item was a gray hoodie. The individual was detained and several hundred dollars were recovered from his pocket. The incident was captured on surveillance cameras. The individual and the gray hoodie matched the description of the co-defendant who was seen taking money from the register. He admitted his involvement and later identified all of the individuals involved in the armed robbery. All three co-defendants identified Fuller as the shooter.

“Quick action from law enforcement resulted in this crime being solved and apprehending those involved,” commented Solicitor Hubbard.