COLUMBIA, S.C. – A South Carolina police officer has been indicted on a felony charge in the death of a driver he fatally shot after a long car chase.
A grand jury handed up an indictment Wednesday on a charge of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle, which carries up to 10 years in prison. The indictment came nine months after a grand jury refused to indict Justin Craven on a voluntary manslaughter charge.
Authorities say Craven chased 68-year-old Ernest Satterwhite for a dozen miles to his driveway in February 2014. Investigators say Craven fired several shots through Satterwhite's car door almost immediately after he stopped. Craven told authorities that Satterwhite tried to grab the officer's gun.
Defense lawyer Jack Swerling says Craven thinks the shooting was justified and plans to go to trial.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
