Man sentenced in connection with 2022 murder

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WOLO)– A 23-year-old man has been convicted last week by a Lexington County jury and sentenced with parole for a 2022 murder, said the solicitor’s office.

The solicitor’s office said, 23-year-old Cleveland Stone, Jr., from West Columbia, was convicted last week by a Lexington County jury and sentenced to 48 years without parole for the murder of 66-year-old Michael Funny, which happened on Aug. 25, 2022, on Glenn Road in the West Columbia area of Lexington County.

Stone’s trial began on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, and ended on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024, after a jury deliberated for around two hours.

Chief Administrative Judge Debra R. McCaslin presided over the trial and imposed the sentence, according to a press release.

The Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office said prior to the trial, Stone asked the court for immunity from prosecution pursuant to South Carolina’s Stand Your Ground law.

But following the hearing on Aug. 8, the motion for immunity was denied and the case proceeded to trial.

Officials say at trial Stone raised the defenses of self-defense, defense of others, and defense of habitation.

Stone is accused of shooting and killing Michael Duane Funny shortly after 8 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2022, while in the driver’s seat of his vehicle while in Stone’s driveway.

During testimony at trial it was revealed that Stone’s father cut Mike’s grass and Mike owed Stone’s father twenty dollars.

The testimony also revealed Mike returned home the day he was killed after being on the road for a couple of weeks as a long-distance truck driver.

When Mike pulled into Stone’s driveway, Stone was in the yard along with two friends and his sister.

Mike asked for Stone’s father and sixty seconds later Stone shot and killed Mike while Mike had his seatbelt on with the vehicle in reverse, said officials.

Also, the testimony and video evidence at Stone’s trial revealed that Stone had been drinking for around three hours leading up to the shooting.

One of Stone’s friends testified during the trial that Stone pulled out his gun, racked the slide, and shot through the open window of Mike’s vehicle following a brief questioning of Mike by Stone.

The friend also testified according to the solicitor’s office that he did not see Mike aim a gun at Stone.

Law enforcement said Mike was a CWP holder and he was able to shoot back after he was shot.

When Mike shot back he hit Stone and Stone’s sister who was standing behind him.

Crime scene evidence and the findings at the autopsy were consistent with the witness’s account of what took place, said law enforcement.

During the shooting, Mike was on a recorded phone call participating in a survey for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The entire encounter and shooting was captured on an audio recording and law enforcement was able to obtain a copy after learning that Mike was on the phone.

On the recorded call, Mike is heard telling Stone to “tell your dad to call Mike” and “your daddy cut my grass” prior to Stone racking his weapon and shooting.

When law enforcement arrived at the scene, they found Mike dead in the driver’s seat of his vehicle with his seat belt on, foot on the brake, and his car in reverse.

Investigators say when they spoke to Stone after the shooting, he denied having a gun and denied the shooting.

Stone is accused of hiding his gun in the wooded area of his property after the shooting, which investigators were able to find the next morning.

At trial, the defense presented testimony from another friend that indicated that Mike was told to leave.

The trial also revealed that Stone’s father knew the victim, cut the victim’s grass for over seven years, and the victim owed his $20 for a previous job.

Investigators said originally Stone’s father told them he did not know the victim.

Officials said Mike did have $20 in his pocket at the time of his death.

The prosecutors remarked that “Mike lost his life in sixty seconds after driving into this driveway. This was a senseless shooting that did not have to happen. It is important that people in the community know that you cannot simply shoot someone for entering your property to ask a question and voluntary intoxication is not a defense to murder in South Carolina.”

Stone was taken to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to serve his prison sentence day for day.