Lexington County Sheriff’s Department investigators have served arrest warrants for murder on two men in connection with the Aug. 9 fatal shooting at Rolling Meadows mobile home park in West Columbia.
According to the warrants, Ricky Lamont Esaw fatally shot Hector Vasquez after robbing him. Wilfred Akeem Pitts Jr. shot Vasquez’ son.
“Our detectives recovered an item from the crime scene that Pitts says belongs to him,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “He also admitted to being at the scene with Esaw at the time of the robbery and shooting.
“After our community meeting with Rolling Meadows’ residents, we received a tip through CrimeStoppers that really helped our detectives on this case.”
In addition to the murder charges, both men face charges of attempted murder, armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Pitts also faces an obstruction of justice charge.
Esaw and Pitts Jr. were already being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and the Newberry County Detention Center, respectively, on charges not related to the Rolling Meadows case.
“The Newberry County Sheriff’s Department, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department and SLED assisted us with this investigation,” Koon said. “The support we received from those agencies was valuable to us as we worked on this case.”