Kevin Lawrence Pearson, 27 years old, pled guilty last week to Voluntary Manslaughter for the shooting death of Rodney Isaac, Jr., back on February 8, 2017. Pearson received a 25 year sentence and the Honorable Frank R. Addy, Jr., was the presiding judge. This conviction is classified under South Carolina Law as a “no parole” offense.

On February 8, 2017, Lexington County dispatch received a call reporting multiple gun shots and that the shooter left driving a Honda accord with a dog in the vehicle. The caller was able to provide a license plate tag number for the vehicle as well. When law enforcement and first responders arrived on scene, they located the victim, Rodney Isaac, Jr., with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The autopsy later confirmed that Rodney died from a fatal gunshot wound to his head.

The license plate tag number provided to law enforcement was determined to be registered to a Honda that belonged to Pearson’s sister. When Pearson’s sister was questioned shortly after the shooting, she stated that her brother did drop off her car and the dog. She also stated that Pearson told her he did something bad. When law enforcement spoke with Pearson’s mother, she confirmed that Pearson left her home that morning prior to the shooting with the dog and his sister’s car. An eyewitness at the scene later identified Pearson as the individual that shot Rodney.

Approximately three weeks prior to this shooting, Pearson was shot in an unsolved drive by shooting at the Bojangle’s in Cayce. The investigation determined that Pearson believed that Rodney was involved. Based upon the investigation, Pearson targeted Rodney and others as retaliation.

Also, during the investigation, law enforcement obtained cell phone and Facebook records belonging to Pearson. Prior to killing Rodney, Pearson messaged multiple individuals asking them to shoot Rodney. Approximately twelve hours prior to the shooting, Pearson sent a message that suggested something would happen when he sees Rodney on Princeton Road where this shooting occurred. After the shooting, Pearson sent text messages that indicated he was not ready to serve prison time and about leaving the state. He was able to evade law enforcement for approximately sixteen (16) months prior to his apprehension in June of 2018.

Pearson is a validated gang member and believed to be a high ranking member. He has prior convictions for Assault High and Aggravated, Discharging firearms into a dwelling, disordering conduct, and a prior parole revocation. Pearson will be transported to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin the immediate service of his sentence.

Assistant Solicitor Sutania A. Fuller handled the prosecution of this case for the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office. This case was investigated by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department with assistance from the Cayce Department of Public Safety.