The Community Times Dispatch

A Green Pond man was apparently on alert when several subjects unlawfully gained entry into his home early Monday morning. The Turkey Hill Lane resident reportedly shot at the individuals as they were entering the residence through a bedroom window and one of the suspects was apparently shot. According to Colleton Sheriff George Malone, the homeowner made contact with law enforcement at approximately 9:30 a.m. Uniform Patrol Deputies, Sheriff’s Office Canine Units and the tracking team responded, setting up a perimeter around the area.

One witness reportedly witness told authorities that the three suspects had come out of a wooded area outside the perimeter and got into a vehicle with several other individuals. A deputy later spotted the vehicle in the area of the Springhill Community, which is not far from the incident location. The officer observed the vehicle pull behind a residence on Springhill Road after which the occupants fled.

The Sheriff’s Office tracking team ran a trail from the abandoned vehicle and caught three individuals in the woods. Minutes later, a call was received from the grandmother of one of the juvenile suspects stating that her grandson had been shot and that he was at her residence, which is a short distance from where the vehicle was abandoned.

Along with the juvenile suspect that was shot, another juvenile at the residence was also taken into custody and the injured juvenile suspect was transported by Colleton County Fire/Rescue to the Colleton Regional Medical Center in Walterboro.

An adult suspect, Larry Speaks, was taken into custody at the residence where the vehicle was abandoned on unrelated charges and also later charged with Burglary 2^nd degree in reference to this incident.

Law enforcement determined that he three individuals caught fleeing from the vehicle into the woods had been involved in transporting the suspects from the area and no charges have been made against them at this time.

The fifteen 15-year-old subject that was shot during the burglary was released later from the hospital. He, along with the sixteen-16-year old subject was transported to DJJ in Columbia. The sixteen year subject will be charged along with the adult suspect, Larry Speaks, as an adult on a warrant. The fifteen year old suspect will be charged through Family Court and DJJ and requested to be adjudicated to face charges of Burglary 2^nd degree as an adult.

The gunshot wound was to the juvenile’s right thigh and was not life threatening.