The final suspect in a cab driver’s murder was taken into custody Wednesday after a standoff at a Beech Island home.
Marcus Allen Turner, 20, surrendered at a home on Terra Cotta Lane. His surrender came after SWAT team members threw a flash-bang device inside the residence, sheriff’s Capt. Eric Abdullah said.
A woman and her two children were evacuated from the home earlier and were unharmed. Turner did not respond to officers when they first came to the home based on a tip that he was hiding there.
Turner has been on the county’s Most Wanted list for months. He is one of three accused in the March 29 robbery and murder of 70-year-old cab driver Robert Hightower (pictured at right). The victim died in May after suffering a brutal attack during the robbery in Aiken County.
Already charged in the murder: 19-year-old Rakim Alan Barton and 24-year-old David Jerome Jacobs Jr. of Beech Island. All are facing charges of murder and strong armed robbery.
On March 29, the driver and his companion of a local cab company picked up three men around 1:30 am from Clearwater Village Apartments. When the driver arrived at their destination off Huber Clay Road, the three suspects exited the vehicle, refused to pay the driver and struck the driver in his head. The suspects stole some items from the driver and his companion. The suspects fled on foot from where they were dropped off.
Investigators, working with SLED, was able to create three composite drawings of the suspects as described by one of the victims.
Sheriff’s investigators were notified by the Aiken County Coroner office that the victim died on May 19th at an area hospital after seeking medical attention for injuries sustained from this incident. After a thorough investigation by the Aiken County Coroner, the victim’s death was ruled a homicide.
For more crime news, pick up this week’s edition of The Jail Report, sold in local gas stations.
