Solicitor: Man sentenced for attempted murder in 2023 Spartanburg shooting
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office said a man has been sentenced in connection with a shooting in downtown Spartanburg back in 2023.
According to officials, on Monday, 39-year-old Travis Lamont Means pleaded guilty to:
- Attempted murder
- Possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime
- First-degree assault and battery
- Possession of a weapon by a convicted felon
- Two counts of malice injury to personal property
Officials said Means was sentenced to 30 years in prison for attempted murder, which is the maximum amount allowed under South Carolina law.
Officials said Means’ additional prison sentences include:
- Five years for possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime
- Ten years for first-degree assault and battery
- Five years for possession of a weapon by a convicted felon
- Thirty days for each of his malice injury to personal property charges
Officials said all the sentences will be served concurrently in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.
According to officials, the crimes occurred in the afternoon of Dec. 12, 2023, in downtown Spartanburg.
Means was riding in a vehicle driven by his girlfriend when the two began to argue.
She pulled into the Super Lodge motel on East Main Street and told Means to get out of her vehicle. He stepped out of the vehicle, but then hung to the passenger-side mirror and door handle, according to officials.
When she tried to drive away, officials said Means pulled out a handgun and began shooting toward her vehicle, officials said.
When he began shooting, a bystander’s vehicle that was driving on E. Main Street was hit by gunfire and its back window was shattered.
Officials said law enforcement responded to calls of vehicles being hit by bullets and Means running toward East St. John Street in a black hoodie.
Means was apprehended at Barnet Park, according to officials.
Officials said the bystander’s vehicle was hit at least once. The vehicle belonging to Means’ girlfriend was hit seven times at the trunk and passenger side.
According to officials, Means has prior convictions for domestic violence, larceny, burglary, assault and battery in the second degree, voluntary manslaughter, threatening a public official, and throwing bodily fluids.
“He showed a complete disregard for human life by firing a gun multiple times in an area with people going to businesses, restaurants, and churches in the middle of the day,” said Deputy Solicitor Spenser Smith. “It is extremely fortunate the victim and other innocent bystanders were not injured or killed that day. The community is safer with Means in prison.”
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