Police: Suspect “armed and dangerous,” do not approach
By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com
Chesterfield County (S.C.) authorities are seeking the public’s help in locating a murder suspect wanted in connection with a Sunday night shooting in Cheraw.
Demonta Deone Gillespie was last seen driving a 2012 white Chevy Impala with South Carolina tags JWD 833.
Police said Gillespie “is believed to be armed and dangerous” and encouraged the public to avoid any confrontation with the suspect. Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay L. Brooks said Gillespie is driving his girlfriend’s car and he has no money, “so he can’t get far.”
“We are talking with some family members and all now to find him,” Brooks said. We’re just doing everything we can to pick him up … safely and quickly.”
Gillespie is accused of shooting 28-year-old Brandon Ellerbe, of Cheraw. Ellerbe died Sunday night of injuries sustained in the shooting. Brooks described the events leading up to the shooting as an between “two friends” inside a home on Fordville Road, just south of the town of Cheraw.
“It was over nothing,” Brooks lamented.
Brooks said at one point, the two were asked to take the argument outside. Next thing witnesses report is hearing at least one gunshot.
“I just left the family’s house,” Brooks said shortly before 10 a.m. with the mother of the victim. “It’s pitiful. That Brandon Ellerbe … he’s the nicest kid in the world. I taught in DARE in the fifth grade. He has always been such a great guy, worked every day of his life.”
At nearly 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds, Brooks described Ellerbe as “a gentle giant.”
“It sort of set me back last night when I saw who it was,” Brooks said. “Bad things happen to good people.”
Brooks said investigators recovered shell casings from the scene but declined to reveal what type of weapon was used.
If you see the described vehicle or have information that could help authorities locate Gillespie, call the Chesterfield County Sheriff’s Office at 843-623-2101 or 843-623-6838, or call 911.
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