COLUMBUS — Authorities charged two people in the death of Lilesville resident Destry Dean Horne on April 6 after hunting for the suspects in three states.
Horne, 51, was found dead from a gunshot wound March 31 in Polk County after the driver of a tractor-trailer called 911 to report that Horne’s box truck had hit his truck. The officers who responded found Horne deceased in the vehicle.
Quintae Dayrelle Edwards, 23, of Simpsonville, South Carolina, and Kwame Fernanders, 22, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, were both charged with first-degree murder following an investigation.
Polk County deputies took over the investigation from Columbus police since the shooting occurred outside the city limits on the U.S. 74 on-ramp off of N.C. 108. Horne’s body was taken first to St. Luke’s Hospital before being sent to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, where the North Carolina State Medical Examiner’s Office determined that Horne’s gunshot was not self-inflicted, according to a press release from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators found that two women and two men were shown on the surveillance footage of a store near the site of the shooting at around the time the truck driver called 911. After publishing the individuals’ pictures in the news, authorities said tips helped identify three of those pictured as Edwards, Fernanders and Kayla Black, 19.
On April 1, officials found that the description of a car stolen from a dealership in Greer, South Carolina matched the image of a 2007 Ford Mustang shown in the surveillance footage.
“The theft of the vehicle in Greer took place approximately three hours before a vehicle matching that description was seen in Polk County on the store video system,” according to the release. “At this point, investigators obtained video from the dealership and Greer and at that point they believed they were looking to identify the same people.”
An off-duty South Carolina officer contributed to the hunt on April 2 when he saw the suspects at a restaurant in Boiling Springs. Spartanburg County officers responded and chased the suspects’ Mustang, which was later found abandoned, according to the release.
When the Mustang was confirmed to be the one stolen from Greer, the three suspects were then wanted in two states. Spartanburg County took out warrants on all three suspects for larceny of a motor vehicle while Polk County had warrants on them for possession of a stolen vehicle in Polk. Edwards, Fernanders and Black were all listed in the National Crime Information Center.
The three suspects allegedly struck again in Gainesville, Florida on April 3.
“It is believed the three went into a home there and duct-taped the individuals inside the residence before forcing an occupant there to an ATM, where they got an undisclosed amount of cash before returning back to the residence,” according to the release. “A female was then forced to go with them, where law enforcement was contacted and began an investigation and an attempt to locate them.”
All three were found in Leon County, Florida on April 3, according to the release.
Leon County deputies were watching for the suspects and stolen vehicles after an alert was issued from the Gainesville Police Department warning that the suspects may be headed to Leon, according to a press release from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
Edwards was found in a parking lot with a stolen vehicle, according to the release.
“Upon his arrest, information was developed leading deputies to believe the other two suspects were located at a Best Western on Mahan Drive,” the release states.
When deputies arrived, they found a second stolen vehicle and Fernanders and Black.
Edwards, Fernanders and Black face charges of home invasion and kidnapping in Florida. After facing those charges, Fernanders and Edwards will be extradited to Polk County to face the murder charges.
All three were listed in the Leon County Jail as of Monday afternoon.
Black is being held on a total of seven charges, including kidnapping a minor for a ransom or reward, kidnapping/committing or facilitating the commission of a felony, two charges of false imprisonment of an adult or child under 13 years of age, and robbery and home invasion with a firearm or other deadly weapon, all in Alachua County, Florida. She is also held on a charge of being an out-of-state fugitive from justice and another charge of being an out-of-state fugitive from justice from Spartanburg after dealing in stolen goods.
Edwards is being held on four charges. He is being held for Polk County for felony first-degree murder and for Alachua County, Florida for kidnapping and false imprisonment in a home invasion with a firearm. He is also being held for Spartanbug County for grand theft auto and is additionally charged with the grand theft of a motor vehicle.
Fernanders is also being held on four charges listed as a hold for felony first-degree murder in Polk County, a board of parole charge in South Carolina, a hold for Alachua County and being an out-of-state fugitive from Spartanburg for a stolen vehicle.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.
