COLUMBIA --
State and local officials took aim Friday at gang violence in the Columbia area with indictments of 15 people on charges including murder, kidnapping, assault and robbery.
Those charged by the statewide grand jury are members of a sect affiliated with the Bloods, officials said.
The charges culminate an investigation into a "very violent" group that began in early 2007, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said.
Three men - Dominique Pabon, Fred Cola Taylor and Michael Douglas - are charged with the May 8, 2009, shooting death of Sintray Bell. Police say Bell was shot while in a car with members of a rival gang.
The indictments follow charges against 20 other alleged gang members in the Lowcountry, with seven accused in the November drive-by shooting of a toddler and two others.
Use of the grand jury is vital to break a "code of silence" that permeates gangs, state Attorney General Henry McMaster said.
Most of the alleged crimes involving the 15 indicted occurred in the Midlands, but some also happened in Laurens County 60 miles north, the indictments said.
Pabon, Taylor and Douglas face other charges that include kidnapping, assault and robbery.
Others facing a variety of charges include Johnathan Bailey, Quatterious Ford, Angel Johnson, Tyrone Johnson, Donald Kelly, Kirk McCoy, Cory Sanders, Dexter Savage, Romero Scott, Darren Stroman, Byron Taylor and James Trapp. All face charges of criminal conspiracy, while some face charges for robbery, assault and attempts to prevent witnesses from testifying. No court dates are set, officials said.
Unfortunately, Lott said, the charges strike at a small piece of gang activity in the Midlands.
"We have a long way to go" in eliminating the problem across South Carolina, McMaster said.
But the indictments send a strong message that illegal gang activities will not be tolerated, Lott and McMaster said. ..
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