William Chastain Pearson was 20 when he was shot and killed in Denmark, South Carolina, on the night of March 29, 2014. A native of Florida, he had moved to attend Denmark Technical College where he studied electrical engineering and worked as a shipping supervisor at the Masonite Door Company.

Pearson went to a planned drug transaction that evening in the company of Kevin Lopez and Pedro Lopez. During the meeting with Xavier Washington and another person, an altercation erupted and shots were fired. Pearson was killed; Pedro Lopez was wounded but survived.

After a lengthy investigation, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrested Xavier Washington in December 2018 on charges including murder in Pearson’s death, attempted murder for Pedro Lopez, and armed robbery related to the drug deal. What details of the shooting or motive remain unclear to the public?