On the evening of January 11, 2015, 23-year-old Donnie Lee Brooks Jr. was shot and killed in North Augusta, South Carolina. Authorities found Brooks with a fatal gunshot wound; another man at the scene suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

The North Augusta Department of Public Safety identified Thomas M. Sapp as a suspect, issued warrants charging him with murder and attempted murder, and conducted a search that ended with Sapp’s arrest and formal charging in connection with the case. Reports state Sapp was later convicted of the charges related to the January shooting.