Columbia Police Department (CPD) Investigators have arrested a 22-year-old man in connection with last weekend’s shooting death on Ardincaple Drive.
The CPD Fugitive Team and additional officers captured Marcel Leon Dillon, II late last night at the 3400 Belvedere Drive with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service’s Operation Intercept Fugitive Task Force and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Dillon is charged with Murder, Two Counts of Attempted Murder and Possession of a Weapon during a Violent Crime and is currently housed at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center (ASGDC).
Dillon is accused of shooting into a crowd while at 3626 Ardincaple Drive at approximately 8:30 p.m. on December 9, 2018. A stray bullet struck the victim, identified by Richland County Coroner Gary Watts as Thomas West, Junior (DOB: July 1978).
Watts adds, West died from a gunshot wound to the upper body. EMS transported him to a local hospital where Dillon was pronounced deceased by medical staff.
Moments before the shooting, CPD investigators believe that Dillon made threats while arguing with several people at a party at the incident location.
All persons arrested/charged are presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.
