Lexington, SC 01/15/2025 – According to the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office, Parris D’Shawn Sutton, age 27, of Gaston, SC pled guilty to Attempted Murder and Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. After the plea was accepted, Chief Administrative Judge Debra R. McCaslin sentenced Sutton to 28 years in prison. Sutton received a 23-year sentence on the Attempted Murder followed by a consecutive 5-year sentence for the weapons charge. Under South Carolina law, the Attempted Murder charge is classified as a violent and “no parole” offense. There was no plea negotiations made in this case.
According to the Solicitor’s Office, on September 17, 2022, around 3 a.m., Sutton arrived at a residence on Edmund Hwy in the Gaston area of Lexington County after learning his ex-girlfriend was there. Earlier that night, Sutton sent a text to his ex-girlfriend threatening to kill her because he believed she was with another man. Once at the residence, Sutton physically assaulted her in front of several witnesses and threatened to kill her. He was asked to leave the residence by the homeowner, who was a female friend of the victim. He returned shortly after leaving under the pretense of needing to charge his phone. Once Sutton was inside, he went to the bedroom where his ex-girlfriend was lying in bed and shot her multiple times until his gun jammed. Sutton continued to fire even after his gun jammed. As a result of the shooting, the victim, his ex-girlfriend is now paralyzed. Sutton was arrested by law enforcement approximately a month later in Charleston where the victim was undergoing treatment for her injuries.
During the course of the investigation, investigators located messages Sutton sent after the shooting. In those text, Sutton wrote: “I did what I did cause she was being sneaky.” Sutton later described that he “blanked out” and it would’ve gotten “real ugly” if the gun did not jam. He then stated: “I kept pulling it.”
During sentencing, the victim, who now relies on a wheelchair for mobility due to her paralysis, addressed the Court and shared how this has impacted her and changed her life forever.
Senior Assistant Solicitor Sutania A. Fuller handled the prosecution of this case for the Eleventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office. It was investigated by the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.
