A 29-year-old Estill man who shot a woman in the head following an argument outside an apartment complex has been found guilty of murder.
Gregory Sanders Jr., 29, was found guilty Wednesday of murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime in the shooting death of Tyhira Herrington on May 10, 2016. He received a life sentence for Herrington’s death and five years on the weapons charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently.
“The defendant told the victim’s mother three days prior that she had better buy a black dress because he was going to kill her daughter,” said the case’s prosecutor, Assistant Solicitor Tameaka Legette. “He was true to his word and delivered a deadly promise.”
Sanders and Herrington argued while at the intersection of Grayson Street and Lawton Avenue in Estill, near the Fairwood Apartment’s laundry. At least two of Herrington’s friends witnessed the shooting.
They drove the 20-year-old woman to the Hampton County Regional Hospital, where she was later pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators found two 9 mm shell casings at the scene. Following the shooting, officers found Sanders behind a vacant home on Second Street in Estill where he was changing clothes behind a trash can. The murder weapon and clothing worn during the shooting were in front of him.
Sanders’ criminal record includes burglary and robbery convictions.
Legette is a member of the Solicitor’s Office Career Criminal Unit, which prosecutes the circuit’s most habitual and violent offenders. The team has convicted 54 of 57 defendants since 2017.
A Hampton County General Sessions Court jury deliberated just 30 minutes before returning a guilty verdict.
Circuit Court Judge Carmen Mullen handed down Wednesday’s sentence.
