Man sentenced in 2017 Berkeley County murder

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A judge sentenced a man Friday after a Berkeley County jury convicted him in a 2017 killing.

Maurice Durell Wigfall was sentenced to 45 years on a charge of murder and five years on a charge of possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime, Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said. Judge Jennifer McCoy said the two sentences would be served concurrently.

Testimony revealed that Wigfall and a second person killed Steven Hutchins on at approximately 7 a.m. on Oct. 31, 2017, when they opened fire on a Sangaree home with two assault rifles, a release from the Ninth Circuit Solicitor’s Office states.

READ MORE: Berkeley County investigators arrest two for fatal Sangaree shooting

“The two opened fire in retaliation for an incident earlier in the morning in which the co-defendant was robbed of a gun,” the release states.

But Hutchins was not involved in the theft and was killed as he was preparing for work, prosecutors said.

Berkeley County deputies responded within minutes to the scene and recovered 13 cartridge cases from the scene and noted over two dozen bullet holes, investigators said.

Deputies said they interviewed over a dozen witnesses and executed search warrants at the incident location and at Wigfall’s home in Hanahan.

A concerned citizen turned over the guns used in the assault to law enforcement and Wigfall was further implicated in the crime, the release states.

The jury returned their verdict Friday afternoon after four days of trial.

Wigfall was previously convicted of first-degree criminal domestic violence, possession of marijuana, and possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

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