Sheriff Lott: No rehabilitation would have helped double homicide suspect

Demetrick Doctor was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) —Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott wants the suspect in a double homicide last week to be locked up for the rest of his life.

Demetrick Doctor was arrested Saturday in Richland County two days after authorities say he killed two people and wounded one more on Ballenton Street.

Sheriff Lott says the events last week show that too many guns are getting into the hands of the wrong people, and that more needs to be done to combat gun violence trends.

“I think one thing we have to realize we’ve just got some evil people living among us in the Midlands of Columbia. One of them is Demetrick Doctor,” Sheriff Lott said.

Authorities say Doctor shot two victims to death and wounded one more Thursday night on Ballenton Road.

Sheriff Lott says Doctor got into a verbal argument with one of the victims the night before.

“There were threats that were made and the shooting was in retaliation to the perceived threats,” Sheriff Lott said.

Sheriff Lott says Doctor has been in and out of jail ever since he was 17.

Doctor served 20 years for voluntary manslaughter before being released on probation in 2015.

Peter O’Boyle of the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services says it’s not common for people on probation to commit violent crimes after their release.

“About 20 percent of our probation population actually commit another crime. There will be instances inevitably with a population of 28,000,” O’Boyle said.

However, Sheriff Lott believes rehabilitation would not have helped Doctor, and that he needs to pay for his crimes.

“Hopefully he’ll end up serving the rest of his life in prison. He’s already demonstrated once in 1995 that he doesn’t care, and now he’s got out and two more people are dead. Those are the evil people we need to keep in and keep them in permanently,” said Sheriff Lott.

Thursday’s shooting was just the latest in a series of homicides this year.

Sheriff Lott says there have been 16 murders in Richland County in 2019, which is down from the same number at this point last year, but he says more work needs to be done to keep his county safe.