NEWBERRY COUNTY — A 22-year-old Aiken man has been charged with murder in connection with the death of a Whitmire man whose body was found Monday morning off U.S. 176.
Michael Saheem Spears, of 222 Reid St. in Aiken, was arrested Wednesday in Aiken and charged with driving a vehicle that had been stolen in Orangeburg. He was also charged with two counts of receiving stolen goods, one of which was for goods valued at more $10,000,
Jesse O. Sanders, 62, was shot multiple times and his body dumped off U.S. 176 near Molly’s Rock Park. A motorist saw the body early Monday morning and called police.
Newberry County Sheriff Lee Foster said investigators were able to catch Spears due to building intelligence, forensic intelligence and information gathered from interviewing.
“We pieced this together through modern police work and the technique of old ways of doing things, going out and interviewing and following up on mundane things,” he said. “Investigators used technology, forensics, good old fashioned police work and partnerships in solving this case.”
Spears was transported Thursday to the Newberry County Detention Center where he was formally charged with murder, kidnapping, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during a violent crime.
Foster said it appears Sanders and Spears met through the online classifieds website Backpage.com and that Sanders contacted Spears, who had posted an advertisement as an escort on the website. Foster said they met sometime after midnight April 10.
“To me it makes no difference what he was doing,” Foster said. “From a professional standpoint, the man was unlawfully killed. He contacted a guy on a social media site. No matter what anyone thinks on that, no one deserves to be killed. It does not diminish him (Sanders) as a human being in my eyes.”
Foster said investigators are trying to determine what was stolen from Sanders. Foster said they believe Spears stole cash, electronics and possibly some jewelry but are not 100 percent sure.
Foster said they believe Sanders was shot and killed after he got into a car with Spears against his will. It is believed that Sanders was killed at or near where his body was discovered on U.S. 176.
“Mr. Sanders was the victim of a senseless violent crime. This simply did not have to happen,” Foster said.
Spears record includes two arrests for burglary and one arrest for shoplifting. The charges began in 2011 when he was 17.
Spear’s arrest will not be the end of the investigation. Investigators are still seeking information that can assist with the investigation and anyone with information is asked to contact the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office at 803-321-2211, www.newberrycountysheriff.com, or Crime Stoppers of the Midlands at 1-888-CRIMESC.