Whitmire man sentenced to 30 years for shooting man on Hwy-66
21-year-old Blaize Pedro Plaza who was 18 at the time of the shooting pled guilty in Laurens County on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Photo: Newberry County
NEWBERRY COUNTY, S.C. (WOLO)– A Whitmire man has pled guilty to murder for a December 19, 2021, shooting death of a Winnsboro man on Hwy-66 near the Newberry/Laurens County line.
21-year-old Blaize Pedro Plaza who was 18 at the time of the shooting pled guilty in Laurens County on Wednesday, Jan. 31.
Plaza was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Investigators say Newberry County deputies responded to a call about a suspicious man in the roadway on Hwy-66 when Jamal Alston was found shot multiple times.
Alston told deputies he picked up a white man and a white woman who shot him and took his vehicle.
He was taken to Spartanburg Regional Hospital where he was later pronounced dead due to his injuries.
Investigators say after speaking to Alston’s family deputies were able to access his social media which led to the identification of Blaize Plaza.
Evidence showed that the two men had a conversation online to meet up and ride around, say investigators.
During the ride along Plaza pulled out a handgun and began shooting at Alston who was able to exit the vehicle but got struck with gunfire several times.
Then Plaza took the vehicle with the female juvenile and drove away to Eaves Road in Union County where he burned the vehicle.
“The time that Blaize Plaza will serve in no way justifies the continued loss Jamal Alston’s Family faces every day, but gives some sense of justice for this unwarranted action, said Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster.”
