RIDGELAND, SC (Aug. 18, 2025) – A Yemassee man who opened fire on two carloads of people, wounding five — including two children and a pregnant woman — has been sentenced to prison.
Anthony Denzel Roberson, 23, of Gopher Lane in Hampton County, pleaded guilty Monday to five counts of attempted murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime in connection with an Aug. 31, 2023, shooting in Jasper County.
The gunfire began at a gas station off Interstate 95 at Exit 33 in Pocotaligo, an unincorporated community. When the victims tried to drive away in two separate vehicles, shots were fired from a black pickup that followed them, forcing both vehicles off the roadway. The drive of one of the vehicles and one of the children in the backseat were struck. One victim was flown by helicopter to a hospital.
Roberson was scheduled to stand trial in September but chose to plead guilty instead. He was sentenced to 15 years for each of the five attempted murders and 5 years for the gun charge. All charges are to be served concurrently. An attempted murder conviction is not eligible for parole in South Carolina.
Assistant Solicitor Trasi Campbell prosecuted the case.
Roberson was scheduled to stand trial in September but instead entered guilty pleas. Circuit Court Judge Robert Bonds sentenced him to 15 years on each of the five attempted murder charges and five years on the weapons charge. The sentences will run consecutively.
A co-defendant, 20-year-old Markel Frazier of Yemassee, also faces five counts of attempted murder and a weapons charge stemming from the same incident. His case is pending, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Campbell is part of the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office Career Criminal Unit, which focuses on the circuit’s most violent and habitual offenders. Since its creation in 2009, the unit has won convictions against 526 of the 578 defendants it has prosecuted.
