During a news conference this afternoon, Columbia Police Chief Skip Holbrook announced pending murder charges against a man accused in the 2015 shooting death of 14-year-old Najeer Buggs.
28-year-old Leonard Mickens (DOB: May 1990), who’s currently housed at the Lexington County Detention Center, is charged with Murder, Attempted Murder and Possession of a Weapon during the Commission of a Violent Crime.
Chief Holbrook said, “Days like this remind me why we do this job. I can’t explain to you what it meant for me to be able to call Ms. Buggs and tell her we would be charging the person responsible for murdering her son.”
Buggs’ mother Lawanda Buggs said, “We have closure and he (Najeer) can rest. I’m glad they got him. He (Mickens) is gonna get what he deserves.”
On July 3, 2015, Buggs and his cousin Rakeem Lloyd were walking along the 4100 block of Grand Street when the shooting occurred. A light-colored vehicle approached them and shots were fired from the driver’s side window.
Ms. Buggs added, “It didn’t have to happen like that.” After Buggs was shot, he ran away but fell to the ground a short distance away and was pronounced deceased at the scene.
During the course of the investigation, CPD investigators located several witnesses who provided details about the case, including a description of the suspect’s vehicle and direction of travel. Investigators also obtained surveillance video of the incident captured on a home security camera that aided in the case.
A key piece of evidence in the case was a .40 caliber spent shell casing that CPD crime scene investigators collected at the scene. DNA analysis from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) confirmed that Mickens’ DNA was present on that shell casing.
Other Cases Linked to Mickens:
Additionally, ballistic testing and a National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) entry managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), determined that the same gun was used during a June 13, 2015 attempted murder which occurred on 7613 Garners Ferry Road in the Richland County Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction.
On August 11, 2015, the Lexington County Sheriff’s Office investigated the murder of Donte Foyle at 5324 Bush River Road. Last week, LCSO announced that deputies charged Mickens in connection with the case after investigators collected a spent shell casing from the crime scene.
Further ballistic testing and a NIBIN entry determined that the same weapon used in the Doyle murder was used to commit the August 6, 2015 shooting at Gonzales Gardens.
Four people were injured in that incident, none fatally.
Lastly, on August 27, 2015, the multi-jurisdictional Midlands Gang Task Force (MGTF) found Mickens and two other people sitting in a vehicle on Victory Street. After a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers found three firearms; a .45-caliber pistol, a .40-caliber pistol, and a .9mm pistol.
After ballistic testing and NIBIN entries, it was determined that the .40-caliber and .9mm pistols were used during another attempted murder incident that injured the victim multiple times, 12-hours earlier (on August 27, 2015) at 3908 West Avenue in Columbia. Following the Victory Street incident, Mickens was taken into federal custody by the ATF.
In conclusion, Chief Holbrook said, “Combined, these cases illustrate what an absolute menace Leonard Mickens has been to our community. He was literally, a walking crime spree, but not anymore.”
All persons arrested/charged are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.