Wilbert Brown

Wilbert Brown, a 45-year-old Black man from the Dovesville community in South Carolina, is remembered through the harrowing account of his own father, who had to make the shocking discovery of his death. His father, 77-year-old Samuel Jackson, said he was still in shock days after the incident. Mr. Jackson recounted how a woman had called him after seeing his son, Wilbert, lying unresponsive on the porch of his home. When the woman’s attempts to speak to him failed, she moved closer and saw that he was bleeding. She immediately called his father, who then arrived to find his son had been killed.

The quiet of a spring afternoon was shattered on Saturday, April 10, 2021, in Darlington County. Around 3:30 p.m., neighbors in the Dovesville community heard the distinct sound of gunshots, which was soon followed by the wail of police and emergency sirens. Deputies from the Darlington County Sheriff's Office rushed to the area, establishing two separate crime scenes along Dovesville Highway, which is also known as North Governor Williams Highway. One scene was located near a railroad track, while the second was on a private property where a vehicle had crashed into a house. It was in the 2600 block of the highway that authorities found Wilbert Brown.

An investigation revealed that Brown had been shot multiple times. Darlington County Coroner J. Todd Hardee was called to the scene and later officially identified Brown, confirming his death was a result of the shooting. The killing marked a grim milestone for the county, becoming the third fatal shooting in just a three-day period. This string of violence deeply worried community members, who had already been on edge after a recent increase in crime in the Dovesville area. Just two weeks before Brown’s death, three other people had been shot in the same community, though their injuries were not life-threatening.

The Darlington County Sheriff’s Office launched a homicide investigation, receiving assistance from agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). For nearly three months, detectives worked the case, gathering evidence and pursuing leads to find the person responsible for Wilbert Brown's death. The investigation reached a critical turning point in the summer. On Wednesday, July 7, 2021, a man named Marquese Devonta Jett, 29, of Darlington, turned himself in to the Darlington County Sheriff's Office.

Upon his surrender, Jett was served with an arrest warrant and formally charged with one count of murder. Warrants stated that Jett was accused of shooting Brown multiple times. He was subsequently booked into the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center. Public records indicated that Jett had a prior charge from 2017 related to a home burglary.

Following his arrest, Marquese Jett was held at the county jail. The case was filed with the Darlington County General Sessions court under case number 2021A1610100343 on July 8, 2021. As of the latest available court records, the murder charge against him remains pending. No further public information has been released regarding a potential motive for the shooting, or details about subsequent court dates, a trial, or a final resolution in the case. The investigation into the death of Wilbert Brown remains in the hands of the justice system.