YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A pair of suspects are facing charges after a man was shot and killed in a rural York County community.
On Tuesday, the York County Sheriff's Office said 38-year-old Mitchell Strickland and 32-year-old Shelby Jeanette Strickland were taken into custody in Randolph County, North Carolina. The former has arrest warrants active for murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, while the latter has warrants for accessory after the fact of a murder. Both await extradition to South Carolina.
The pair are charged in connection to the death of 51-year-old Stephen Stowe, who the York County Coroner's Office said was killed on Friday, May 3 after being shot. It happened during the evening along Enon Church Road, near the Smyrna community.
Deputies said Stowe and the Stricklands knew each other. The preliminary investigation shows the shooting likely happened after an argument between them escalated.
The sheriff's office said this is the first homicide of 2024 that deputies are investigating. Stowe's death also happened just one day before a man was found dead inside a home in the city of York, which police say is the city's first homicide investigation since 2022. Jai'Shaun Young, of Gastonia, North Carolina, was found shot and killed along Galilean Road. So far, nobody has been charged with Young's death.
Randolph County, North Carolina is roughly 138 miles northeast of the Smyrna, South Carolina area. Smyrna is located across the state line and 50 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.
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