# 5 females charged in spree



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*Four women, 15-year-old girl arrested after chase in Swansea SC*

*By CAROLINE SMITH*

*[email protected]*










COURTESY TO THE STATE
Keith Etheridge, 22, was found shot to death Friday in his idling car off Two Notch Road.

About those arrested
Four women and a 15-year-old girl have been linked to a string of violent crimes that includes the shooting death of a man during an attempted robbery last week, authorities said Tuesday.
All five confessed to their involvement in the spree, Lt. Chris Cowan, spokesman for the Richland County Sheriff's Department, said Tuesday.
The women dressed like men during the attacks, and their victims were men, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.
"This is definitely different," he said.
Four of the five, including the juvenile, were charged with murder in the shooting death of 22-year-old Keith Etheridge on Friday. The other adult was charged in connection with the robberies.
Family and friends of Etheridge, who was fatally shot during a robbery gone bad, welcomed the announcement of the arrests by the Sheriff's Department.
Etheridge's aunt, Mazie Lawson, said, "I'm just relieved myself. At least that set of people won't do harm to anybody else."
The incidents began last month, according to Richland County reports.
• On July 31, two women entered Abigail Vilchls' home on Percival Road at about 3:30 p.m. He was shot in the hand and his car was taken.
• On Friday, Columbia police received a call at about 12:30 a.m. that five people were trying to rob people in the parking lot of Video Express on Two Notch Road. They didn't find the person who called 911 or the robbers. However, after searching the area, police found the body of Etheridge, 22, in an idling car on Carnegie Street. He had been shot twice in the chest.
• Later Friday, Juan Sandos was robbed at gunpoint in his house on Fox Trail Lane by four people around 6 p.m. He was assaulted, and his money and vehicle were taken.
The spree ended Saturday, when Swansea police officers tried to stop Sandos' stolen car for speeding.
After the car didn't stop and officers realized it was stolen, police started a pursuit, a Swansea police report said.
At one point, a black bag, which police later recovered, was thrown out of the car's window. A handgun inside was linked to the robberies and the murder, Lott said.
The car finally stopped, and the driver escaped.
Inside the car, police found marijuana and drug paraphernalia, according to the report.
Facing murder charges are:
• Janeshia Furtick, 17, of N. Campanella Extension, Columbia
• Tamika Holiday, 19, of Airbase Road, Columbia
• Trakita Cooper, 17, of Hallbrook Drive, Columbia
• The 15-year-old girl who was not identified because of her age
All four also face robbery charges. In addition, Holiday is charged with assault and battery with intent to kill.
One woman, Starr Richardson, 25, of Bailey Street, Columbia, is charged only in the robberies.
Cowan said investigators think Richardson could be the driver of the vehicle involved in the chase.
On Tuesday afternoon, friends and family of Etheridge attended a visitation at Bostick-Tompkins Funeral Home on Colonial Drive.
His younger sister, Kawanda, remembered Etheridge as a loving, family-oriented man who was always smiling. She said Etheridge's girlfriend was three months pregnant with their first child.
Etheridge was employed as a driver for Inter-Rail Transport.
Kawanda Etheridge said her brother used to take her 3-year-old son, Damaryon, on trips to Charleston. "It's hard to explain to him why Uncle Keith won't be able to play with him no more."
She had a message for the suspects: "I'm happy you got caught and I hope you never get out. You took an innocent life. You took a father, a brother."
E.B. Strong, executive director of Gang Out in Columbia, said he has seen increased violence among groups of young women in the Midlands.
"I think young ladies are trying to prove they are just as bad as males and are attacking males," he said.
Fifth Circuit Assistant Solicitor Kendall Corley said a hearing to determine whether the 15-year-old will be charged as an adult is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.
Bond hearings for the others are scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

Reach Smith at (803) 771-8570. Staff writer Lee Higgins contributed to this report.


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