2 men sentenced in deadly 2009 Walterboro shooting

WALTERBORO, S.C. (AP) — Two men have been sentenced to five years each in prison for their roles in a 2009 drive-by shooting that killed three people, including a 20-month-old girl.

WCSC-TV reports (http://bit.ly/LVnml5 ) Saturday that Shaquille O’Neal Drayton and Deshaun Quatrell Holmes were sentenced after pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.

Relatives said a group was playing cards in a front yard in November 2009 when a car pulled up and opened fire.

Witnesses said her mother tried to shield Shaniyah Burden from a barrage of bullets. The girl and 21-year-old Christopher Powell died at hospitals. Forty-five-year-old Charles Kittrell died at the scene.

Drayton and Holmes were arrested in a massive round up of suspected gang members in July 2010. That sweep followed a five-month investigation by local, state and federal agents.

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Information from: WCSC-TV, http://www.wcsc.com