WINNSBORO/COLUMBIA (March 1, 2017) – A Goose Creek man was charged in Fairfield County last week with attempted murder for firing shots at State Troopers during a cross-county high-speed chase on Feb. 10.
In addition to attempted murder, the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said Thursday that Paul Anthony Walker, 20, of Red Bank Road in Goose Creek, was also charged with possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
The charges against Walker were the latest in a list of charges made against a total of five suspects following the Feb. 10 car chase down I-77 South, including another attempted murder charge levied against a Charleston man.
According to the S.C. Highway Patrol, Walker was the passenger in the right rear seat of a Toyota Camry that had been linked to the armed robbery of a Verizon store earlier that evening in Waxhaw, N.C. The Camry, driven by Dangelo Antonio Coakley, 27, of Mt. Pleasant, was spotted leaving the Wilco Hess gas station on Highway 200 just off I-77 in Fairfield County just before 10 p.m. on Feb. 10. Coakley steered the Camry onto I-77 South, and near mile marker 43, two State Troopers attempted a “high-risk stop,” the report states.
Coakley accelerated, disregarding the blue lights, while a third Trooper joined the chase. Passengers sitting in the back seat fired several rounds from handguns at the Troopers as the Camry raced into Richland County with speeds reaching 130 MPH. None of the shots struck any of the pursuit vehicles, the report states.
The second back-seat shooter was later identified as Malik J. Gadist, 20, of Charleston. Gadist was charged by the Highway Patrol with attempted murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Coakley wheeled off I-77 at the Killian Road exit, at which time the lead pursuit Trooper performed a “precision immobilization technique,” the report states, disabling the Camry. Gadist, Walker, Coakley and a suspect later identified as Julius H. Washington, 26, of Summerville, fled on foot.
Richland County deputies and their K9 units, as well as SLED agents, combed the area while an aircraft unit searched overhead. Walker and Coakley were apprehended a short time later. Gadist and Washington were captured at the Comfort Inn on Bush River Road. According to the Sheriff’s Department, a fifth suspect, Sandra Ray Mack, 27, had allegedly assisted Gadist and Washington in eluding police. The Sheriff’s Department said Mack has been charged with obstruction of justice, accessory after the fact of attempted murder and accessory after the fact of armed robbery.
Coakley was charged by the Highway Patrol with possession of a stolen vehicle, reckless driving, driving under suspension, failure to stop for blue lights and attempted murder. Coakley was also charged under the Habitual Offender Act.
Washington, Walker, Gadist and Coakley also face charges for the Verizon armed robbery in Waxhaw. The Highway Patrol said all four are linked to several other armed robberies throughout the Carolinas.
