BEAUFORT, S.C. — A Beaufort County man already facing a murder charge is now accused in a second deadly shooting in South Carolina.
Authorities say 23-year-old Xavier Barnes was arrested by the Columbia Police Department on Thursday and charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. He is accused of killing 29-year-old Maurice Green in Richland County in July 2025 and later disposing of the body in neighboring Orangeburg County.
Investigators have not yet determined a motive in the Columbia case, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Barnes was previously charged in connection with a separate homicide in Beaufort County. In that case, he is accused of killing 18-year-old Trey Blackshear in 2019 at a church parking lot on Buckwalter Parkway in Bluffton.
Authorities said the earlier shooting occurred during a marijuana transaction that escalated into an attempted robbery.
At the time of his latest arrest, Barnes — a resident of Lady’s Island — was out on bond for the 2019 murder case. Columbia police confirmed they are working with prosecutors from the Fourteenth Circuit Solicitor’s Office to seek a revocation of his bond.
Officials continue to investigate both cases.
