LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — A Columbia man has been sentenced to 54 years in prison for a fatal 2022 shooting in Lexington County that claimed the life of one man and injured another.
Chendric J. Brown, 27, received the sentence after a jury convicted him of murder and attempted murder. He was sentenced to 54 years for the murder conviction and 30 years for attempted murder, to be served concurrently, and is not eligible for parole under South Carolina law.
The convictions relate to the September 24, 2022, shooting death of 22-year-old Harold L. Peak III. Peak was riding in a red Kia Soul in the Princeton Road area when gunfire erupted. The vehicle’s driver was also shot but survived.
Prosecutors said Brown and an accomplice waited at an abandoned house along Princeton Road for Peak to leave a nearby residence. When the vehicle appeared, they opened fire with a 7.62-caliber assault rifle, striking both occupants. Bullets also hit a nearby home where residents were inside at the time.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department identified Brown as a suspect using witness statements, surveillance footage, and digital evidence. Video from nearby locations captured a white Lexus NX — consistent with Brown’s vehicle — leaving the area minutes after the shooting. A witness later confirmed Brown was the driver.
Text messages presented at trial revealed Brown communicated with his accomplice before the shooting, seeking Peak’s location and expressing anger toward him. Photos and videos recovered from his phone showed him previously in possession of a rifle consistent with the weapon used in the attack.
Brown has been transferred to the South Carolina Department of Corrections to begin serving his sentence.
