White Man Given Life Sentence For Killing Black Child
White South Carolina Man Given Life Sentence For Killing Black Child While Shooting At Random Cars
On May 28, 2022, 44-year-old Charles Montgomery Allen armed himself with a rifle and shotgun and opened fire on random cars that passed through his neighborhood in Florence, South Carolina, shooting and killing an 8-year-old Black child, Quarius Naqua Dunham, and injuring multiple other people. Last week, Allen was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of Quarius’ murder and the attempted murder of five others.
According to ABC 15 News, S.C. Circuit Court Judge H. Steven DeBerry, IV sentenced Allen to life in prison for the boy’s murder and 30 years behind bars on each of the five counts of attempted murder, which included the shooting of Quarius’ father, Matthew Dunham, who was reportedly shot twice when Allen fired into the family’s vehicle. Matthew, Quarius’ mother, Tecali Dunham, and several others spoke at Allen’s sentencing hearing.
From ABC:
The Dunhams described how the shooting has impacted their family and wanted Allen to receive the maximum penalty for his crimes.
There was hardly a dry eye in the courtroom after listening to the parents.
Twelfth Circuit Asst. Solicitor Todd Tucker even became choked up when giving the facts of the case.
Other victims spoke during the hearing with one woman calling Allen’s actions a “cowardly act of violence.”
One man said he can’t even drive on Old River Road anymore because he lives in fear that he could be shot at again.
Allen, of course, apologized to the victims and their families while in court, reportedly claiming he “wasn’t right in the head” during the attack. According to the New Hampshire Union Leader, at the time of the shooting, local authorities suggested that there was no motive for the shooting, and that Allen was likely on drugs.
“No motive. Just probably methed up. He’s had a history,” Florence County Sheriff T. J. Joye told reporters in Myrtle Beach at the time. “Just a senseless, senseless act.”
Allen had been held at the Florence County Detention Center without bond since his arrest. His attorney, Elizabeth Hedgecoe Neyle, said her client opted not to request a bond because of what he’d done.
Asst. Solicitor Tucker, however, claimed the opposite was true, saying Allen showed no remorse at all at the time of the shooting, and that he often played “victim” while he was being questioned by police investigators. Tucker also noted that a mental health evaluation found Allen was competent to stand trial, which Neyle conceded, while also claiming the independent evaluation determined her client still had serious mental health issues.
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