Georgetown Man Admits to Shooting Men He Believed Were Federal Informants

OCT 6 -- Columbia, South Carolina - United States Attorney W. Walter Wilkins stated today that Edward McCain, age 18, of Georgetown, South Carolina, pled guilty today in federal court to using a firearm to murder one man and injure another, both he believed were acting as informants against him. United States District Judge Patrick Michael Duffy of Charleston accepted the plea and will sentence McCain at a later date. The minimum penalty McCain can receive is life imprisonment. Because McCain was 17 years old at the time of the shooting, he is not eligible for the death penalty.

Evidence presented in court established that on November 14, 2008, McCain set up a meeting with the two victims, after receiving information that one or both of the men had assisted law enforcement in a major investigation. McCain arranged for the victims to park their car on Gilbert Street in Georgetown, then approached the car and fired at least six shots into it, striking both men. One of the men was killed, while the other suffered serious injury. McCain admitted that he intended to kill both men so that they would not pass information on to law enforcement regarding his drug trafficking activities.

The case was jointly investigated by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Georgetown Police Department, and the Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Peter Phillips of the Charleston office handled the case.