Cops: Murder suspect's brother fires into home to intimidate witness

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) - Officials with the Charleston Police Department say a murder suspect's brother attempted to intimidate a witness in his brother's case by firing several shots into a downtown home.

The Charleston Police Department arrested 25-year-old Adrian Collins and charged him with unlawful carrying of a handgun and intimidation of a witness. According to police, Collins is the brother of Tyrel Collins who is accused of that fatal 2011 slaying of Solomon Chisolm.

Around 11 p.m. on Sunday, officers responded to a home on Drake Street for shots fired into a home. There were several people in the home, but police say no one was injured.

A CPD report states there was speculation that the incident was done to intimidate a witness who was going to testify against Tyrell Collins for the Chisolm murder.

Investigators say video surveillance showed Adrian Collins was in the area of the home on Drake Street before and after the incident.

At 9 p.m. on Monday, officers responded to the area of Hanover Street and Columbus Street in reference to a disturbance. A man, later identified as Adrian Collins, fitting the description of one of the men involved in the disturbance was then spotted in the area.

Police say after officers asked if Collins was carrying any weapons, Collins fled on Hanover Street. Officers say they caught him on Nassau Street and recovered a handgun.

CPD officials say the recovered gun from Collins matched the ballistics of the weapon used in the incident at the home on Drake Street.

In September of last year, a mistrial was declared after a trial began for Adrian Collins' brother, Tyrell Rashad Collins, for the fatal 2011 downtown shooting of 24-year-old Solomon Chisolm. The incident happened on Oct. 27, 2011 at the Mall Park playground on Columbus Street. 

A new trial date has not yet been set in the case, according to court records.

Court documents state Collins approached Chisolm while he was playing cards with three other people. Collins then got into an argument with the victim and pulled out a handgun. Witnesses told police that's when Collins fired the gun about five times at Chisolm, hitting him multiple times.

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