Valdon Osborn Keith was 46 when he was killed on Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1985. Keith served as a volunteer South Carolina State Constable and also ran a local business in Greenville County. The incident began with an armed robbery at a Family Mart on East North Street; two men fled in a beige Chevrolet Chevette after taking an undetermined amount of cash.

Law enforcement located the getaway car and pursued it. Constable Keith rode in a Greenville County Sheriff’s Office patrol car during the chase. As officers attempted to block the suspects’ vehicle on State Park Road near Worley Road, one of the occupants pulled alongside the patrol car and fired a 9mm handgun. Keith was struck and died from his wounds.

One suspect, recently paroled after a previous armed robbery, was later arrested, convicted of first-degree murder and given life plus 25 years. He escaped prison in 1994, was recaptured after being featured on America’s Most Wanted, and died of a heart attack in custody on August 7, 2005. The identity and fate of the second suspect are not publicly disclosed.

Does anyone have memories of Constable Keith or information about the second suspect that could help complete the record?