Man sentenced to 42 years for murder during 2022 Orangeburg home invasion spree

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 (WCIV) — A man has been convicted and sentenced to over 40 years imprisonment for killing someone during a home invasion in Orangeburg in 2022, South Carolina First Circuit Solicitor David Pascoe’s office announced Thursday evening.

Kendrick Keeshawn Stephenson was sentenced to 42 years in prison by Judge Edgar Dickinson after pleading guilty Tuesday, July 9 prior to his trial for murder and first-degree burglary.

Jamel Walker, 24, was killed by Stephenson after a slew of home invasions throughout Orangeburg in 2022.

In the early morning of April 20, 2022, Orangeburg Department of Public Safety officers responded to a home on Ellis Avenue for a reported armed robbery.

The victim told officers she was awakened from her sleep by a man clad in a blue ski mask and gray sweatshirt tapping her with a firearm.

The perpetrator, later identified as Stephenson, was holding her debit cards and cell phones and demanded the pin numbers from the victim.

After she complied, Stephenson fled, only to wreak more havoc on the City of Orangeburg.

Officers later responded to a home on McKewn Street after a man matching the same description as the Ellis Avenue home invasion was captured on a Ring camera trying to break into the homeowner’s car and residence.

Over the course of the next few hours, officers responded to several more reports of an armed man dressed in a blue ski mask, gray sweatshirt, and a Dallas Cowboys football glover trying to break into cars and homes while being captured by security cameras.

Investigators eventually found Jamel Walker lying on the grass on Treadwell Street. Stephenson burglarized Walker’s home, Walker chased him out of the residence, and Stephenson fatally shot Walker twice.

Officers found a Dallas Cowboys football glove and a dreadlock on scene, which positively matched Stephenson’s DNA.

After searching Stephenson’s home, investigators found a gray sweatshirt and blue ski mask.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant Solicitor Mark Hinds who said, “Kendrick Stephenson went on a criminal rampage throughout the city of Orangeburg on April 20, 2022, and an innocent homeowner lost his life during these senseless acts. We can never bring Mr. Walker back to his family, but I am hopeful this resolution will bring closure to this tragedy.”