Bishopville man once serving life is now free
BISHOPVILLE, S.C. (AP) — A Bishopville man who was once serving a life sentence for two murders has now been found not guilty in the crimes.
The Item of Sumter reports (http://bit.ly/152PyaG ) a Lee County jury acquitted LeQuint Johnson on Wednesday.
The South Carolina Supreme Court ordered a new trial for Johnson in 2010 after ruling an investigator at his first trial read Johnson’s nickname in a co-defendant’s statement after it had been redacted.
Johnson was found guilty of killing 27-year-old Tyrone Dinkins and 54-year-old Joseph “Bud” Reames during a robbery in that 2007 trial and was sentenced to life.
Johnson’s lawyer says there was no physical evidence linking Johnson to the killing and the man who said he killed the victims lied to get a deal from prosecutors.
