Columbia Police Investigators have arrested three people in connection with two murder investigations; One which occurred in 2015, the other, two months ago.
The most recent case occurred on April 8, 2017 at 2353 Candwenn Court. Initially, officers were dispatched to that location for a burglary call and saw signs of a break-in. When they entered the home to investigate further, they found 43-year-old Marlon Terrell Butler, Senior deceased.
His accused killer, 23-year-old Bouvia Sales (DOB: 5-22-1994) has been arrested and charged with Murder, Attempted Murder, Burglary –First Degree and Possession of a Firearm during Commission of a Violent Crime.
Sales is currently being house at the Lexington County Detention Center on unrelated charges from another law enforcement jurisdiction.
During the course of the investigation, it was determined that suspect Sales broke into the home and stole clothing and a flat screen TV. Around 2 A-M, while the burglary was still in progress, the victim and his son returned home.
When Mr. Butler, Senior entered his home, Sales is accused of shooting him multiple times in the upper body and shooting at the victim’s son, who managed to escape by running from the scene and calling 9-1-1.
As CPD Investigators looked for clues inside of the home,
They discovered a key piece of evidence containing DNA that was tested by SLED and ultimately linked Sales to the crime.
Also, the flat screen TV that was stolen during the burglary was recovered last Friday during the execution of a search warrant at a Tremain Street home.
This led investigators to question several more people who had material information related to the investigation.
CPD Investigators also learned that Sales had confessed to at least three different people since the incident.
As a result, on June 9, 2017, CPD Investigators consulted with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office who subsequently authorized murder warrants for Sales.
Yesterday, Investigators picked up Sales from the Lexington County Detention Center, transported him to CPD Headquarters to speak with him and serve the arrest warrants. Sales was then taken back to the Lexington County jail where he is currently housed.
The second murder case resulted in the arrests of two males in connection with the September 6, 2015 murder of Charles Kusko, Junior of Budon Court.
On June 9, 2017, CPD Investigators arrested 33-year-old Floyd Owen (DOB: 2-3-1984). Owen who is charged with Murder, Burglary First Degree, Criminal Conspiracy and Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime.
Just this afternoon, Owen’s co-defendant, Charles Barham (DOB: 3-6-1987), the victim’s nephew, was arrested near Two Notch Road on the same charges.
On September 8, 2015, Officers initially went to the home for a welfare check of the homeowner.
Co-workers had contacted police when Kusko didn’t show up for work. When police arrived, they noticed forced entry at the home. When they went inside, they found Kusko deceased. It’s believed that Owen broke into Kusko’s home and shot him several times in the head. Barham allegedly drove Owen to the Budon Court home and served as a ‘look-out’ during the crime.
At the onset of the investigation, Owen provided an alibi for whereabouts during the crime and was interviewed by CPD investigators. Several other friends and family members were also questioned by CPD.
In order to generate Crimestoppers tips, Laurin Barnes, one of Kusko’s daughters, and the lead CPD investigator conducted media interviews about the crime. However, this resulted in very few tips for investigators.
After exhausting all leads in the case, CPD’s Cold Case Unit adopted the investigation for review.
The Cold Case Unit provided a ‘new set of eyes’ and a fresh start by reviewing case notes, crime scene photos and more importantly, DNA evidence collected at the scene and tested by SLED.
CPD met with SLED to discuss the DNA evidence, firearms evidence and a behavioral profile for the suspect. As a result, investigators re-interviewed several people who knew Kusko. It was further revealed that Kusko and Owen got into a heated, threatening argument between the two prior to his death. During the interviews, several people implicated Owen as the shooter in the case.
Officers also determined that Owen was a suspect in an armed robbery case that occurred at the 2100 block of Windsor Hills Drive on February 6, 2017.
As investigators kept piecing information together over the next several months, the Warrant Team was asked to search for Owen regarding the armed robbery case. As a result, on June 7, 2017, Investigators arrested Owen for the Windsor Hills robbery.
Additional people were interviewed about the murder case, and as a result of information gathered, and consulting with the Fifth Circuit Solicitor’s Office, murder warrants were authorized for Owen.
This past Friday, (June 9th) CPD investigators picked up Owen from the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and brought him back to CPD HQ for questioning. Owen later confessed to the crime.
Both Owen and Barham are housed at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
All persons arrested/charged are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.